Mets (20-18) vs. Nationals (17-24)

[RandolphScott]

Game Preview

 

Matt Wise is the Mets' thin man, so thin, he teammates say, he has no other side. They've heard that he's rejoined them after his own personal, extended spring training. But they haven't seen him in a game, so they're wondering: is he back, or did he just lose weight?

 

Now, according to people familiar with the Mets' personnel decisions, Wise will be quite invisible in the clubhouse, dugout and bullpen. He remains visible on the disabled list, though, although he was said to be game ready Friday. He left Shea Stadium after the game Sunday and headed back to Port St. Lucie, Fla., for two more days of eating at the Outback, Chili's and pitching.

 

The club made no announcement at least partially because it had not activated the veteran relief pitcher. He returned to New York on Wednesday, rejoined the team -- unofficially -- Friday, watched the three-game weekend series against the Reds and then packed for Florida.

 

Wise didn't acknowledge the latest and rather unusual move. But teammates were aware of it and making light of it. It's one of those "go figure" things that clubs do when moves that are not necessarily in the best interest of the team are made because of options and contracts and rules.

 

The move, now not likely until Wednesday, appears to be what it was initially -- Wise activated, Joe Smith optioned. Smith is aware of the likelihood. Wise was last seen -- sort of -- scratching his head.

 

But the Mets' pitching alignment is a tad messy right now -- bullpen and rotation. Because the rainout Friday night pushed Mike Pelfrey's start to Saturday night, Pelfrey won't have sufficient rest to start on Wednesday against the Nationals, as scheduled. So the club is weighing alternatives, the most likely of which is to summon Adam Bostick from the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs to fill the one-start void.

 

Bostick, right-handed and 25, has a 2-1 record and 3.83 ERA in nine games -- eight starts -- and 40 innings. Other pitchers -- veterans Claudio Vargas and Tony Armas Jr., for instance -- are available but not on the 40-man roster. The club is reluctant to create room on the 40-man to fill a one-game need.

 

And no need may exist. The forecast for Monday makes another rainout quite possible. And that would allow the rotation to be pushed back one day and thereby cover the Wednesday start. So, come Wednesday, fans might see Bostick or John Maine. And perhaps they will see Matt Wise, too. Or not.

Pitching matchup

NYM: RHP Nelson Figueroa (2-2, 4.81 ERA)

Figueroa's longest and most effective performance as a starter this year came against the Nationals on April 17. He pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and two runs and striking out a season-high seven. He has won once and lost twice in three subsequent starts, finishing the sixth in none of the three. Left-handed hitters are batting .382 against Figueroa, right-handed hitters 213 points lower.

 

WSH: LHP Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.43 ERA)

The National League average ERA is 4.18. Perez's is 3.43. Somehow Perez's record in eight starts is 0-3. One of his losses came against the Mets on April 15 at Shea, when he allowed two runs in six innings. Luis Castillo and Moises Alou have .375 career averages -- in 24 and 16 at-bats, respectively -- against Perez. And one of Castillo's 24 career home runs was off Perez.

 

Tidbits

Oliver Perez's stolen base in the second inning Sunday was the third of his career and first by a Mets pitcher since Orlando Hernandez stole a base last summer. ...The Mets have rescheduled Jets Night for July 8 when they play -- who else? -- the Giants. The promotion was to have preceded the Mets' April 28 game, but it was rained out. Tickets from that game will be honored Aug. 11. They are not valid for the July 8 game.

 

This date in Mets history -- May 12

After winning merely five times in their first 22 games, the '62 Mets won twice in one day on this date. Hobie Landrith, the first of the original Mets, hit a home run off Warren Spahn with two outs in the ninth to fuel a 3-2 victory against the Braves in the first game of a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds. Gil Hodges hit a solo home run with one out in the ninth inning to win the second game after the Mets had tied the score at 7 in the eighth. The Mets hadn't won a game by one run until that point. Craig Anderson was the winning pitcher in both games, pitching three total innings in relief. He had been the winning pitcher six days earlier, too. He lost his other 17 decisions that season, and he never won another game in his brief career.

 

Frank Viola gained his seventh victory in seven starts in a 7-0 victory against the Dodgers at Shea in 1990. He struck out seven. No other Mets pitcher has ever won his first seven starts in a season. ... In 2004, Tom Glavine and Braden Looper combined on a three-hitter in a 1-0 victory against the D-backs in Phoenix. Kaz Matsui's home run off Randy Johnson to lead off the game was the difference.

 

Linkage

[Allstarjim]

This could be a great game for the Mets. Nationals just came off a series versus the Marlins where they were completely outclassed. Their team has to be down a little bit confidence wise, and the Mets are riding high as their hitters are stroking it right now. That said, they are going to need to give Nelson and the bullpen at least 5 runs of offense tonight. Let's do it!

[GorillaNJ]

This could be a great game for the Mets. Nationals just came off a series versus the Marlins where they were completely outclassed. Their team has to be down a little bit confidence wise, and the Mets are riding high as their hitters are stroking it right now. That said, they are going to need to give Nelson and the bullpen at least 5 runs of offense tonight. Let's do it!

That most likely means that we will get no-hit tonight.

 

 

Too bad we did not get a rain out, I would like to see Santana get a start against the yanks

[jranieli]

That most likely means that we will get no-hit tonight.

Too bad we did not get a rain out, I would like to see Santana get a start against the yanks

 

Santana is going to pitch against the Yankees regardless now.

 

My prediction tonight, Mets get their hits but cannot drive in runners in scoring position. Figs pitches well but we lose 4-1.

 

[GorillaNJ]

Lets see that DP millege

[gateb]

Did anyone else see Figueroa look to the Nats pen after getting Kearns out :lol:

 

LETS GO KEARNZIE LETS GO!

[jranieli]

Yeah I have not seen that on any level besides high school. That was pretty gay. Next time, Figs should throw at one of them and send them a message.

[Allstarjim]

Did anyone else see Figueroa look to the Nats pen after getting Kearns out :lol:

 

LETS GO KEARNZIE LETS GO!

 

 

I missed it. What happened again?

[xxi-xxv]

Dear Nelson Figueroa,

 

Hey Nelson, this is your fairy godmother La Nina Minaya and I am here to tell you its midnight, which means you now have returned to being a journeymen pitcher. Soon and in Met fans cases thankfully they can choose between Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez. Thanks for the ride.

 

Mrs. Minaya

 

 

 

 

PS fuck these met fans for even uttering a boo this guys direction

[jranieli]

The only positive thing I have learned from this game is that Bermuda sounds like a really great place to vacation and only two hours away from the US mainland.

[Allstarjim]

LOL, xxi. This wouldn't have been AS bad had the Mets been playing better defense (I'm looking at you, Delgado). However, it looks like once Figgy goes through the order one time, the Nats have him figured out and then it's like hitting slow pitch softball for them. xxi, in an earlier thread I think you said he is best served as the Mets long reliever. I think you are correct. That said he has been ok all things considered for a 5th starter replacement. It's Perez and Pelfrey that need to be more consistent, that is my concern.

 

C'mon Pedro!

[jranieli]

If Figs made that play at the plate, who knows how it would have turned out. He might have gotten out of the 4th and cruised through the 6th.

 

Lets see if these bats decided that the game is over, down by three.

[jranieli]

fucking Delgado

[Allstarjim]

Do I root for Sosa to completely suck? Maybe Mets brass will finally realize they are better off with Smith and Wise than they are with this dude, and just waive him.

[gateb]

I missed it. What happened again?

Elijah Dukes has been screaming from the dugout "LET'S GO _____ LET'S GO!" in a high school manner. After Figueroa got out of a bases loaded jam he clapped towards the Nats dugout and actually did some kind of dance. Funny stuff.

 

Hey Nelson, this is your fairy godmother La Nina Minaya

 

[jranieli]

Can't watch this crap anymore.

[Allstarjim]

Dukes is a thug P.O.S. anyway.

 

Damn Sosa is terrible. Please waive him Minaya!

[RandolphScott]

Game Preview

 

The Mets' hope that Pedro Martinez will return to active duty before or shortly after June 1 seemed to gain some legitimacy on Monday, when the pitcher said that he intends to pitch in simulated game conditions against Minor League players on Wednesday -- one day after the Mets take on the Nationals on Tuesday in Game 2 of their four-game series. For Martinez, it would be a significant step in his return from a torn left hamstring.

 

Though neither Martinez nor Mets' Minor League rehabilitation coordinator Randy Niemann would speculate on a date for Martinez's return when an Associated Press reporter inquired, a member of the Mets' hierarchy said on Sunday that the best possible scenario would have Martinez pitching by June. He threw a bullpen session on Monday.

 

Martinez strained his left hamstring in the Mets' second game on April 1 in Miami. It was his season debut. A report by The Associated Press said that the latest injury has been difficult for the three-time Cy Young Award winner to handle since he missed most of the 2007 season because of rotator cuff surgery in October 2006.

 

The report quoted Martinez as saying, "Not depressed. I'm not that kind of person that gets depressed, but it's frustrating [after] how hard I worked. My arm is feeling great. My arm really hasn't given me any problems and now a hamstring. A hamstring, out of all cases a hamstring. Go figure."

 

Martinez said that he needs to pitch before he can assess where he stands and where he thinks he may stand when he does return. "Pitching and being great is not about talking," he said. "It's not talking that defines greatness. Greats are defined inside the white lines. That's where you become great or you become whatever you are. As far as Port St. Lucie, [Fla.], and rehab, I'm nothing. Nothing counts. It's all wasted words."

 

"It's something that you just have to wait for it to heal," Martinez said. "Now I'm about to get back. Hopefully, it won't happen again. These things keep happening."

 

Pitching matchup

NYM: RHP John Maine (4-2, 3.00 ERA)

Maine pitched longer than any Mets starter in nearly a year, lasting into the ninth inning in a 12-1 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday. Sporting a fastball that reached 97 mph and a sharp changeup, he allowed four hits and one run. If not for a bloop double and a walk conspiring to end his day in the ninth, he might have recorded the second shutout of his career. Maine has beaten the Nationals once already this season, allowing two runs over 6 2/3 innings.

 

WAS: LHP John Lannan (3-3, 3.40 ERA)

Lannan earned his third win in his past four starts when he beat the Astros on Thursday night, throwing six innings and allowing just one run on seven hits. He struck out three and walked only one. It was good enough to keep Washington from getting swept in a three-games series in Houston. He relied mostly on his changeup and slider against the Astros, throwing curveballs only to the last batter he faced in the game.

 

Tidbits

Brian Schneider said his left thumb bothers him when he catches, particularly when a pitch hits the scar tissue created when the thumb was lanced. ... Ryan Church has four assists. Through Sunday, only Matt Kemp of the Dodgers (five) had more assists among all big league outfielders. ... Damion Easley played second base in place of the injured (strained left quad) Luis Castillo on Monday in the Mets' 10-4 loss to the Nationals. He hit his first home run of the season and drove in a run with a single against winning pitcher Odalis Perez. ... Carlos Beltran drove in a run in the first inning, his ninth RBI in four games, and David Wright hit his seventh home run in the seventh, two batters before Perez's departure in the seventh inning. ... The Mets have lost the last three times they have been opposed by a left-handed starter. Their record in that circumstance now is 8-4.

 

This date in Mets history -- May 13

Remnants of the largest night-game crowd in the history of Shea Stadium -- 56,658 -- saw the Mets lose, 5-4, to the Giants in a game begun on this date in 1966. Jim Davenport's home run off Dave Eilers, in his fifth inning of relief, decided the four-hour, 27-minute game. Willie Mays had tied the score in the eighth inning. ... A single by Ernie Banks with two outs in the eighth inning was the lone hit allowed by Gary Gentry in the fifth one-hitter in club history and the second of three the Mets pitched in 28 days in 1970. Nolan Ryan pitched one against the Phillies on April 18, and Tom Seaver pitched one against the Phillies two days after Gentry's.

 

The great Juan Marichal beat the Mets 26 times and lost only eight times, including a game at Shea on this date in 1972. Buzz Capra (eight innings) and Tug McGraw combined on a three-hitter. Capra drove in the game's lone run in the second inning. ... Three years ago, Cliff Floyd hit two home runs against Jason Marquis, as Tom Glavine, Roberto Hernandez and Braden Looper combined on a five-hitter in the Mets' 2-0 victory against the Cardinals at Shea. ... Also on this date in 1990, the Dodgers traded a veteran second baseman to the A's for Stan Javier. Willie Randolph batted .304 with three RBIs in the A's eight postseason games.

 

Link

[jranieli]

Tonights lineup

 

* SS Jose Reyes

* RF Ryan Church

* 3B David Wright

* CF Carlos Beltran

* LF Moises Alou

* 1B Carlos Delgado

* 2B Damion Easley

* C Brian Schneider

* P John Maine

 

[GorillaNJ]

Way to send the message Maine.... Maybe we get a brawl tonigt

[xxi-xxv]

I am sorry folks I want to be wrong, but this team is nothing more than the mess we saw from June of 07 until now. Not horrible, but not very good either.

 

Sad, very sad. Todays moves tell me Willie is next.

[gateb]

I am sorry folks I want to be wrong, but this team is nothing more than the mess we saw from June of 07 until now. Not horrible, but not very good either.

 

Sad, very sad. Todays moves tell me Willie is next.

What happened?

 

 

[jranieli]

I am sorry folks I want to be wrong, but this team is nothing more than the mess we saw from June of 07 until now. Not horrible, but not very good either.

 

Sad, very sad. Todays moves tell me Willie is next.

 

We got rid of Sosa who has been horrible this year. He has become so unreliable and we do not need him. We swapped Vargas for Figs, took Wise off the DL and put Pagan on the DL. I really don't have a problem with these moves. Now if we sent Smith down instead of Sosa, we would have a problem.

 

Figs had his 15 minutes of fame. He has looked horrible over the last few starts. Way too many walks yesterday and looked clearly rattled after the Nats bench was cheering. I am sure he will be back, just needs to get his things back together. After everything we have gone through this year so far, these moves are nothing to complain about.

[gateb]

I think we're going to miss Castillo more then we think.

[jranieli]

Remember when Reyes was a clutch hitter?