Raul Valdes Likely Taking John Maine’s Spot in New York Mets Rotation
May 22, 2010 by Flushing Baseball Daily
Filed under Fan News
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have a tentative schedule to pitch Raul Valdes in the first game of the Phillies series in place of John Maine, who just went on the DL with shoulder weakness.
Igarashi Takahashi will be back in there for the second game against Philly and Mike Pelfrey will be pitching the last.
At least they haven’t put Oliver Perez back in the rotation, but it is interesting that they would turn to a member of their bullpen instead of going to the minors. Although now that R.A. Dickey is already in the rotation, there is no obvious choice to get called up.
Pat Misch would probably make the most sense, especially considering that he is lined up to pitch that day and manager Jerry Manuel said that he wants a lefty against the Phillies. Misch is also putting up pretty good numbers in Buffalo, 4-0 with a 3.02 ERA in 50.2 innings. Dillon Gee might be another possibility, but he would have to go on short rest.
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Jon Niese Is Key to This Phillies Series
April 30, 2010 by Flushing Baseball Daily
Filed under Fan News
A week-and-a-half ago, nobody thought that the Mets would be the team in first place when they went up against the Phillies this weekend, but it’s true. The Mets have been winning at a better pace than the Phillies lately despite the fact that it is the Phils who are generally regarded to have the better lineup and rotation.
So what chance do the Mets have of coming out of this series maintaining possession of first place?
Well that depends on how Jon Niese pitches tonight. I say that because the Mets are going up against Roy Halladay tomorrow for the first time since the ace pitcher has been wearing a red uniform. They’ll have the good fortune of sending Mike Pelfrey , who has been their best pitcher so far this season, up against him; however a win against Halladay can never be assumed.
Likewise, the Phillies are going to have a tough time of it on Sunday thanks to Johan Santana , who has been downright filthy aside from one bad start against Washington. Making things better for the Mets, they will be going against the struggling, 47-year-old Jamie Moyer.
So realistically the Mets might be expected to lose Saturday, but win Sunday. That makes tonight’s game the one that could swing this series.
So it is up to Jon Niese. He has been effectively lately, but has not been able to go deep into games and has, probably more than any other Mets starter, been helped by making three starts at home. His 1.86 WHIP could be a sign of impending doom.
So the Mets can come out of this series still in first place with a big night from Jon Niese tonight. Can he show he can be successful on the road? And in Philadelphia no less? We’ll see tonight.
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1st Place Mets Sweep Doubleheader
April 28, 2010 by Flushing Baseball Daily
Filed under Fan News
Thanks to a rain-out on Monday the Mets played the Dodgers twice yesterday. The Mets won the first game 4-0 behind a strong pitching performance by Johan Santana. The offense powered them towards a 10-5 victory in a second game where Oliver Perez couldn’t pitch past the fourth inning. The pair of victories left the Mets in first place, half a game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Game 1 Notes
- Johan Santana’s line: 6IP, 4H, 0R, 3BB, 6K.
- Fernando Nieve (2IP) and Pedro Feliciano (1IP) combined line: 3IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 4K.
- Angel Pagan went 1-for-4.
- Luis Castillo went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI’s.
- Jose Reyes went 1-for-4.
- Jason Bay went 1-for-3 witih a solo home run and a walk.
- David Wright went 1-for-3 with a stolen base, a run scored, and a walk.
- Ike Davis went 1-for-3 with a walk.
- Gary Matthews Jr. went 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Rod Barajas went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Game 2 Notes
- Oliver Perez’s line: 3.2IP, 3H, 3ER, 4BB, 2K.
- Hisanori Takahashi (3.1IP), Jenrry Mejia (1IP), and Raul Valdes (1IP) combined for this line: 5.1IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K (all strikeouts by Takahashi).
- Angel Pagan went 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored.
- Luis Castillo went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
- Jose Reyes went 1-for-5 with three runs scored.
- Jason Bay went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
- David Wright went 3-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and four RBI’s.
- Ike Davis went 1-for-2 with a walk and three RBI’s. Jeff Francoeur went 1-for-4.
- Henry Blanco went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Thoughts
- How great was it watching the offense finally turn out a big game?! Dropping Jose Reyes to the third spot in the order seems to have really worked out so far and what a difference Ike Davis has made.
- Like I predicted yesterday, the bullpen was heavily taxed during the doubleheader throwing a combined 8.1 innings throughout the day. Unless the Mets make a roster change, manager Jerry Manuel needs to be careful not to burn out relievers the rest of the week.
- Oliver Perez is hurting this club more than he’s helping it. That’s no giant revelation, but this club should seriously look into doing something about the pitcher if it is serious about contending.
- On that note, I think it’s time Hisanori Takahashi is moved to the rotation. It doesn’t have to be for Perez, maybe John Maine gets taken out instead.
- Jason Bay is now hitting .412 over his last five games, it’s about time.
- David Wright’s RBI-single in the 5th inning of the second game was the 1,000 hit for his career.
- This was the Mets first sweep of a doubleheader since June of 2007 against the Philadelphia Phillies
Quote
- “He’s making a strong case for himself to be a part of the rotation if we continue to have issues,” Manuel said about Takahashi.
Line of the Day
2-out RBI – D Wright 4, I Davis 2. Two out RBI’s go a long way in the offense putting up big numbers. The Mets struggled mightily in this category early in the season. They’ve been able to turn it around and it’s why they are in first place.
Up Next
- The Mets go for a sweep of the Dodgers and their 7th win in a row Wednesday afternoon.
- Wednesday April 28: RHP John Ely (0-0, no ERA) vs. RHP John Maine (0-1, 8.64).
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