Santana, Mets try to keep good times rolling in Tampa

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

In just a few minutes, the Mets will face off against the Rays and try to win their third game in a row. Johan Santana is on the mound, and the relatively pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field should be a nice change of scenery after he was lit up for four home runs at Yankee Stadium last week.

The Mets lineup for today is as follows:

Against the right-handed Jeremy Hellickson, Ike Davis gets moved up to the fifth spot in the order. Jordanny Valdespin earned another shot at batting second with his four RBI on Monday. However, with Ronny Cedeno and Justin Turner getting ready to return from the disabled list, it appears Valdespin may be sent back to Buffalo some time soon.

Ben Zobrist returns to the Rays lineup to give it a little more teeth, while the lefty Matt Joyce has also been moved down in the order with the left-handed Santana starting.

The Rays starting pitcher Hellickson has been pretty fortunate so far this season with a 2.65 ERA despite a strikeout-to-walk ratio under 2:1. He’s been helped a lot by a .248 BABIP and his FIP stands at 4.74.

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R.A. Dickey has entered another world

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

Last night in St. Petersburg, Florida, R.A. Dickey took the mound for the Mets needing to pitch seven shutout innings to match Jerry Koosman’s club record of 31.2 consecutive scoreless innings.

Not only did Dickey break Koosman’s record by pitching eight straight scoreless innings, but he only allowed a single hit in the entire game while striking out a career high 12 batters and leading the Mets to an easy 9-1 victory over the Rays.

In his last five starts (dating back to May 22), Dickey has pitched 39.2 innings while allowed only one earned run with 50 strikeouts and only three walks. The ridiculously dominant run has left the knuckleball thrower ranked third in the National League with a 2.20 ERA. He’s also ranked fourth in the NL in strikeouts with 90 and his 0.94 WHIP is second best.

With the All-Star Game in Kansas City less than a month away, it appears almost certain that Dickey will make the NL side. The only question is whether or not he is going to start the game. I’m guessing that honor will go to San Francisco’s Matt Cain, who just pitched a 14-strikeout perfect game last night against the Astros. The sterling performance now has Cain ranked above Dickey in all three of the categories mentioned above.

Even in the unlikely event that Cain falters between now and the All-Star break, he’s still probably going to get the start in the Midsummer Classic. That’s not only because of his historic moment last night but also because Dickey is better used as a change of pace from the other All-Star pitchers, who will almost all be throwing over 90 miles per hour.

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Niese back on track as Mets take series from Pirates

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

If you missed last night’s awesome R.A. Dickey start and the Mets win that came long with it, my recap is over at The Daily Stache. Feel free to read it, or just know that Dickey set a new career high with 11 strikeouts. Hooray!

Today, the decent pitching continued, as Jon Niese went seven and two-thirds innings and allowed just one run against an admittedly weak Pirates lineup. Niese surprised by only throwing five curveballs all day (he had been averaging 21.4 according to an SNY graphic), but he got by just fine with his fastball, cutter and change-up. At the end of the day, Niese had struck out five Buccos and only walked a pair.

“I really didn’t need it [the curveball],” said Niese after the game, “I thought I was really using the backdoor cutter a lot, and it was working.”

The Mets, buoyed by Niese’s fine day, went on to win 3-1. The offense came quickly for New York, who went up 1-0 in the first inning went Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled with one out and eventually scored on a Lucas Duda RBI single.

The lead was extended in the fifth when Rob Johnson and Mike Baxter each hit a single on either side of Jon Niese’s sacrifice bunt. That put runners on the corners with one out and Nieuwenhuis followed with a sac fly to make the score 2-0. David Wright then lifted a fly off of the right field Roberto Clemente wall to get Baxter in from first and give the Mets a 3-0 advantage.

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Baxter bats lead-off as Mets take on Buccos tonight

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

With Andres Torres having issues at the plate recently, Terry Collins has penciled Mike Baxter into the lead-off spot tonight for New York’s game against James McDonald and the Pirates.

Here’s the rest of the Mets lineup:

Baxter will play left field with Nieuwenhuis in center so hopefully any offense they produce tonight at the top of the order is not offset by another embarrassing defensive miscue. Also, Ike Davis is back in there against the right-handed McDonald, but some skeptics think that it’s only a matter of time before Davis finds himself in the Buffalo Bisons lineup.

On Sunday, Terry Collins suggested Davis could be sent to the minor leagues, telling reporters “There is nothing etched in stone. We will never, never say something is not going to happen. What we’re trying to do is make sure is we wring the rag dry.”

So much opinion! When Jason Bay comes back, I’d much sooner send down Nieuwenhuis, who strikes out even more than Davis does. On the flip side, it wouldn’t kill me if Davis went to triple-A, but I just don’t see the point of it for a team that doesn’t have an obvious replacement (Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy can play first, but then who steps in for those guys?). Plus, it remains a fact that the Mets’ postseason chances are very, very slim, so they can certainly afford for Davis to swing his way out of this.

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Mets new American holiday hats look pretty sweet this year

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

It’s been a little tougher than usual to watch the Mets play on Memorial Day and Independence Day in recent years because the special holiday hats badly clashed with the Mets uniforms. However, if these photos posted by MetsBlog are legit, this year’s caps look to be much more stylish.

This more subtle camouflage look allows the Mets to continue to wear blue and orange on their heads while honoring the country’s soldiers and veterans. I’m not sure what’s up with the black hat. You can’t really see the camouflage on that one (maybe there’s something on the back?), and the Mets have shied away from their black uniforms all season. I’m guessing these hats were designed before the Mets made their uniform intentions clear this season.

Well, hopefully the Mets continue the very pleasant trend of wearing blue hats, no matter what the occasion. We should first be able to see one of these hats in action when the Mets take on the Phillies on Memorial Day next week.

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This time starter blows lead, Mets lose to Pirates 5-4

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Aaron Yorke


After getting out of Toronto with just one win in three games versus the Blue Jays, the Mets return to National League play this week, starting with three games against the Pirates.

Last night’s series opener got off to a good start, as the Mets bats blessed starter Johan Santana with a rare multi-run cushion. Alas, Santana let the 4-0 lead slip away by giving up a pair of runs in the fourth inning — when he gave up three straight doubles to Josh Harrison, Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez — and another pair on backup catcher Michael McKenry’s two-run home run in the seventh.

“We were trying to throw a fastball away [to McKenry] and it stayed pretty much in the middle of the plate and up and he put a good swing and it was out of the park.” Santana told reporters after the game. “I still feel that I have some work to do with my command, and especially with my fastball.”

With the game tied at 4-4 in the eighth and Jon Rauch on the mound, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Mike Baxter nearly collided in the outfield and let a routine Neil Walker fly ball fall in for a triple.

“I didn’t hear him,” Baxter told reporters after the game. “I should have taken a look. It’s 100 percent my fault. That’s a fundamental of baseball. Kirk has the right of way on that ball. I’ve got to get out of his way on that ball. That one hurts. … I was calling for it. But it’s irrelevant, to be honest with you. As off-outfielders, your job is to know where he’s at and if he’s going to make a play on it, you get out of the way.”

Both Baxter and Nieuwenhuis had entered the game as pinch hitters in the top of the inning. Two batters later, Clint Barmes hit a fly ball to right that was just barely deep enough to get Walker home from third and give the Pirates the lead. In the ninth, Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan put down the Mets in order to preserve the 5-4 win.

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The Mets go to Canada

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets are up north in Toronto for the weekend for a three game series with the Blue Jays. For some reason, MLB scheduled interleague play to begin this weekend and then go into hibernation again until June 8, so we will be witnesses to a lot of random match-ups over the next three days.

It turns out that out of all the teams the Mets have ever played, they have the highest winning percentage against the Blue Jays. Of the 18 games the teams have played all time, the Mets have won 14, including a 9-0 home record. That means that New York is only 5-4 when playing in Toronto, but the last time they went there, in 2006, the Mets took two out of three. Not bad.

Here’s the Mets lineup for tonight:

Hey look! A DH. In case you didn’t know, “DH” stands for “designated hitter,” which is a player who hits for the pitcher in the American League. Pretty much all National League fans hate the DH rule. If not for the reason that it allows AL teams to carry boring, unathletic players on their rosters, then for the fact that when a pitcher hits a home run, it is freaking awesome. There’s nothing more exciting than a pitcher who can hit!

The good news for the Mets is that putting Kirk Nieuwenhuis in right field instead of Lucas Duda should enhance the defense tonight. I guess one good thing about the DH is it puts better defensive players on the actual field, but that also removes the need for strategic substitutions. It was fun when Adam Dunn was in the NL and managers would have to decide between leaving him out in left field or taking him out in favor of someone who could actually catch the ball.

This game will be extra fun because it is the second major league game played by catcher/third baseman Yan Gomes. Not only is Gomes playing third base, a position that he just learned this season, but he’s also from Brazil, which makes him the only MLB player from Brazil.

Gomes already upset me by being absent from my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2012, so hopefully he’ll make me less mad during the game and make some outs. Can’t wait.

Tonight’s pitching match-up features Ricky Romero for Toronto and Jon Niese for New York.

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Mets steal one from Cincinnati, head off to Canada

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Aaron Yorke


Trailing 4-0 after four and a half innings against Mat Latos and the Cincinnati Reds, the Mets certainly looked like they were going to suffer their third straight defeat yesterday. However, even with Latos pitching well and the National League’s best bullpen waiting in the wings, the Mets rallied all the way back to tie the game, and then they rallied some more. When the dust finally settled, the Mets earned a 9-4 victory to split the short series with the Reds.

After New York starter R.A. Dickey and Latos pitched three scoreless frames each, Joey Votto got the scoring started in the top of the fourth when he slammed a home run off of the Pepsi Porch facing in right field.

Cincinnati kept rolling in the top of the fifth. Dickey starting the inning by hitting Ryan Ludwick with a knuckleball and then issued his first walk of the game against Todd Frazier. Backup catcher Ryan Hanigan followed with a double past center fielder Andres Torres that got Ludwick home and made the score 2-0. Next, Latos hit a sac fly to score Frazier and move Hanigan to third. That allowed Hanigan to score while Zack Cozart was at the plate thanks to what seemed like Mike Nickeas’ hundredth past ball of the day.

Dickey struck out Cozart and Drew Stubbs to end the inning, but the damage had been done. They way Latos was pitching, it seemed a tall order to ask the Mets to come back from a 4-0 deficit. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they were able to cut the lead in half by the end of the fifth inning.

With Andres Torres (single) and David Wright (walk) aboard in the bottom of the fifth, Lucas Duda came to the plate with two outs and a chance to deal some damage. Duda fell behind Latos 1-2, but battled to foul off some pitches and then finally lined a double into right field that allowed both baserunners to score. Suddenly, a win was not so far out of reach.

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Mets call up LHP Robert Carson, designate Carrasco for assignment

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

D.J. Carrasco only pitched three and two-thirds innings for the Mets this season, but after he surrendered a two-run homer to Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier last night, the front office decided that enough was enough. Carrasco was designated for assingment after last night’s loss, and this morning the Mets announced they had called up lefty reliever Robert Carson from double-A Binghamton.

Last season, Carson pitched mostly as a starter for the B-Mets, but he didn’t find a ton of success in that role. The 2007 14th round draft pick only struck out 91 batters in 128.1 innings with 55 walks and a 5.05 ERA. However, while pitching out of the pen this season, Carson has 13 strikeouts and 4 walks in 14.2 innings with a 1.84 ERA.

Carson hasn’t pitched in the majors before, so the Mets will likely bring him along slowly with some low leverage work. Eventually though, Carson can give the bullpen more flexibility by giving Terry Collins a second lefty to turn to. So far this season, Collins has had to decide between using Byrdak on a tough lefty in the sixth or seventh inning and saving him for later on. Hopefully, if Carson pans out, he can allow the Mets to be tougher on lefties late in the game.

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Reds slam bullpen, defeat Mets 6-3

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Aaron Yorke


Ouch. This 6-3 Mets loss to Cincinnati hurt more than usual because it involved Terry Collins making a pretty dumb decision that immediately resulted in the Mets blowing a lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, New York finally put up a crooked number against Reds starter Mike Leake. With the score tied 1-1 and Lucas Duda on first with a single, Daniel Murphy hit a ball sharply towards the first base line that was deftly snagged by Joey Votto. However, instead of doing the smart thing and taking the easy out at first, Votto attempted to throw to second from his backside. The result was the ball tumbling into left field and no outs recorded on the play.

Slumping Ike Davis was up next, and he also hit the ball hard down the first base line, but this one got by Votto for a double. Duda scored on the play to make the score 2-1 Mets. New York would get another run when Mike Nickeas successfully executed a squeeze play.

That’s what set the stage for Collins’ poor bullpen management. Mets starter Johan Santana allowed a solo home run to Todd Frazier in the top of the seventh. Two batters later, with the tying run on second and two outs, Collins brought on Bobby Parnell to get the final out of the inning. Parnell succeeded by striking out Zack Cozart on five pitches.

Even though the pitcher’s spot had just been passed in the order (ie: Parnell did not need to be subbed out for offense), Collins for some reason brought in Jon Rauch to pitch the eighth. This was very frustrating for me, because I had just wrote a bullpen article for The Daily Stache about how Rauch stinks and how Parnell is great. Here’s me tooting my own article.

…it’s a bad combination for someone to have a low strikeout rate and a low ground ball rate. That’s what Rauch is working with this season, and it’s a good reason to leave him out of high-leverage situations.

I only wish I could be as prophetic when I actually predict good things to happen. Rauch allowed Drew Stubbs to single, which was followed by a Votto double and a Brandon Phillips RBI single. Now with the go-ahead run on third base, Rauch finally got the first out when Chris Heisey hit a pop fly to first base.

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