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Mets (19-15) vs. Giants (18-16) Series Thread

RandolphScott

By RandolphScott
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RandolphScott

RandolphScott

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West-bound Mets face big test

 

NEW YORK -- When the Mets boarded their charter flight to the West Coast on Wednesday evening, they began a seven-games-in-seven days excursion to the least hospitable sites in the National League. They are to play four games against the Giants in AT&T Park beginning Thursday and then three in Dodger Stadium, and the combined home record of the two California teams was 26-8 when the Mets took off.

 

And before they return to Citi Field on May 25, they will play three games in Fenway Park, where most visiting teams haven't fared well this season.

 

"A good early-season test," is how David Wright characterized the Mets' next 10 games. And no one argued.

 

Chances are they will play at least a few games -- and possibly all 10 -- without Carlos Delgado, who may be assigned to the disabled list before the Mets see a pitch from reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on Friday night. And it won't get a whole lot easier after that. The Mets face Randy Johnson on Saturday afternoon -- he opposes Johan Santana -- and Matt Cain on Sunday.

 

"We have to play out there now," Carlos Beltran said. "And both teams are playing decent right now. We have to go there and play the best baseball. It's not an easy roadtrip. This trip will test us." The Mets won half their six games in San Francisco and Los Angeles last year. But the coast has traditionally been a problem for them. They lost all four games in San Diego last year.

 

"But I think we came together as a team in L.A. in 2006," Wight said. "You can't tell. Every year is different."

 

Pitching matchup

NYM: RHP John Maine (3-2, 4.54 ERA)

Maine managed to hold the Pirates to one run in six innings Saturday. He was not particularly pleased with the outing, which lasted 102 pitches, but Maine is a difficult man to please. He will look for improvement against the Giants, a team he held to a .214 average in 10 2/3 innings last season, and to whom he has never lost in three career starts. The eight players on the Giants roster who have faced Maine have produced a .140 in 43 at-bats against him.

 

SF: LHP Jonathan Sanchez (1-3, 4.78 ERA)

Sanchez has made one quality start in five tries, so he needs some instant results. He produced a 9.00 ERA and pitched merely nine innings in his two most recent starts. The good news for Sanchez is that he's returning home, where he hasn't yielded an earned run in 11 2/3 innings this season. He has surrendered two unearned runs in two starts at AT&T Park. Sanchez has made four appearances against the Mets in his career, posting a 2-1 record and a 3.55 ERA. No current Met has faced him more than seven times. Sanchez is to be the sixth lefty starter the Mets face in 18 games. They faced none in their first 15.

 

Tidbits

The Mets optioned Jon Niese to their Triple-A Buffalo affiliate following his start against the Braves on Wednesday. They purchased the contract of Nelson Figueroa from the same club. The move was announced after the team had left for the airport and there was no word whether Figueroa would replace Niese in the rotation and/or start against the Dodgers on Monday night. Figueroa has made one big league appearance this season. He was the losing pitcher at Citi Feld April 19 when the Mets lost, 4-2, to the Brewers. He allowed five hits and three runs in six innings. He has an 0-3 record and 2.57 ERA in five starts and 28 innings with the light-hitting Buffalo team.

 

Fernando Tatis hit the second pitch thrown by reliever Buddy Carlyle over the Citi sign in straightaway center, just where the height of the outfield wall drops from 16 feet to 10 feet, 10 inches. "I didn't see where it went," he said. "But I guess I hit to the perfect place. ... Francisco Rodriguez made his second successive non-save situation appearance in less than 24 hours. He pitched three innings in the two appearances and said he'd be fine to pitch Thursday in San Francisco. ... Three members of a family from Winfield, N. J., visited with David Wright before the game. Their names: David Wright Sr., David Wright Jr. and David Wright III.

 

This date in Mets history -- May 14: Art Shamsky delivered two runs with a triple in a three-run rally in the third inning, and Nolan Ryan struck out 14 in a complete game in the Mets' 3-2 victory against Reds at Shea Stadium on this date in 1968. Alex Johnson, who loved the challenge of a fastball, struck out three times. Tony Perez loved that challenge, too, and he hit two home runs. ... A grand slam by Cleon Jones against George Stone was the critical hit in an eight-run rally in the eighth inning that secured a 9-3 Mets victory against the Braves at Shea on May 14, 1969. ... The A-Mays-in' Mets were born two years later. Willie Mays made his Mets debut on Mother's Day and hit a game-winning home run against Don Carrithers in the fifth inning of a 5-4 Mets victory against the Giants at Shea. Rusty Staub had hit a grand slam off Sam McDowell in the first inning.

 

Hubie Brooks hit a grand slam off Eric Nolte in the third inning, providing the decisive runs in the Mets' 6-1 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego on this date in 1991. ... Three years later, Ryan Thompson hit a grand slam off John Smoltz in the fifth inning of the Mets' 11-4 victory against the Braves at Shea. After Thompson Cadillac'ed around the bases, Smoltz hit John Cangelosi for the second time in two plate appearances, prompting a benches-clearing incident with the photo ending up on the cover of Sports Illustrated, contradicting Charlie O'Brien's claim that he was involved. ... And on May 14, 2000, Mike Piazza hit a grand slam an Mike Hampton threw a no-walk complete game in the Mets' 5-1 victory against the Marlins at Shea.

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xxi-xxv

xxi-xxv

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i think it should be a 2-2 split- you win tonite because sanchez has been sucking and johan beats unit on saturday. then we win with freak friday and cain sunday.

clearly passive agressive blu, you know you think you will win all 4 by 12 runs :P

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fringe

fringe

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Wright's been playing pretty good but he has not been on a tear yet. I am still waiting for that.

:glare: i don't know your definition of a tear but the guy was on base every inning last nite.

 

your scouts definitely saw something in our pitcher too because they were running on him like crazy. he must have some 'tell' in his delivery. i think he needs to work on that ... in fresno.

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:glare: i don't know your definition of a tear but the guy was on base every inning last nite.

 

your scouts definitely saw something in our pitcher too because they were running on him like crazy. he must have some 'tell' in his delivery. i think he needs to work on that ... in fresno.

Its comical here in NY blu on WFAN and ESPN 1050. The same bozos that call and annoint the likes of Omir Santos, Angel Pagan, Ryan Church, Argenis Reyes, Robinson Cancel etc are the same clowns that call and get all over Wright. Guy had ONE DOWN YEAR with RISP and all of a sudden he is the problem and he must be traded. Mind you he drove in 124 runs in that down year as well.

 

David Wright is so not a problem with this organization. The owners suck, have sucked for a long time and will continue to suck. The G.M. is more overrated than Brian Cashman. Those are the problems, not David Wright.

 

Maybe some of these morons should go read about Bill Pecota.

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xxi-xxv

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i don't know why but being a mets player has never been easy.

 

Its because the majority of the fanbase(not usually the ones who are also Giant fans like we see here, but more Jet fans)completely overhype any little shred of decency they see in a player way too soon. This is known as the Ed Kranepool syndrome, instead of accepting ED for what he was, Met fans talk about how he was never the next Mickey Mantle.

 

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fringe

fringe

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Its because the majority of the fanbase(not usually the ones who are also Giant fans like we see here, but more Jet fans)completely overhype any little shred of decency they see in a player way too soon. This is known as the Ed Kranepool syndrome, instead of accepting ED for what he was, Met fans talk about how he was never the next Mickey Mantle.

i think the organization has to share the blame. they've always had the middle child syndrome.

 

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i think the organization has to share the blame. they've always had the middle child syndrome.

 

I but that theory blu, but they do tend to overhype their own. Sometimes it works out when you can deal players like Stan Jefferson, Shawn Abner, Floyd Youmans, Herm Winningham and get back good players like Gary Carter and Kevin McReynolds, but from Gregg Jeffries to Alex Ochoa to what will no doubt occur with Fernando Martinez it just becomes tiresome. Then they go shit on guys who are actually good like Wright and years ago to a lesser extent Strawberry and Dykstra.

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RandolphScott

RandolphScott

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Mets to lean on Sheffield

 

SAN FRANCISCO -- The havoc that Carlos Delgado's hip injury has wreaked on the Mets now has manager Jerry Manuel scheming. Knowing that Delgado's absence allows opposing pitchers to take something of a mental break while navigating his lineup, Manuel has decided to fire back with another intimidating presence: Gary Sheffield.

 

"I do feel that we have to have a presence somewhere in that lineup," Manuel said. "So Sheffield is a guy that we're going to really take a good look at on this trip, just to see where he is and what he can do. This will be like an audition for him."

 

What that means is that Sheffield is likely to play nearly every day against the Giants and the Dodgers during the first two legs of a three-city road trip. Despite not possessing quite as much pop as he did in his prime, Sheffield still intimidates pitchers with his ferocious swings and long foul balls.

 

And intimidation is important.

 

"I'm going to try to keep him someplace," Manuel said. "He might bounce back and forth, because I've just got to get him at-bats. The at-bats are more important."

 

At whose expense those at-bats will come, Manuel didn't mention. But the notion that Sheffield will "bounce back and forth" implies that he will spell both Daniel Murphy in left field and Ryan Church -- or Jeremy Reed, who has been starting frequently -- in right. As long as Delgado remains shelved with an impingement of his right hip, Fernando Tatis will start at first base, leaving one fewer outfielder to battle for playing time.

 

Sheffield started in left field Thursday, giving the Mets an early lead with an RBI single in the first inning, then doubling with two outs in the third.

 

"He's got one of those weird batting stances and weird wiggles of the bat," Manuel said. "I haven't quite figured him out. I'd like to see him on consecutive games to kind of see where he is."

 

Perhaps Sheffield will be a welcome tonic against reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, who is to start for the Giants on Friday -- especially considering Delgado's success against Lincecum: two home runs in four career at-bats. Then again, perhaps the Mets don't need any additional help. In 22 at-bats against Lincecum, Church, Tatis, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright have combined to hit .409.

 

Opposing Lincecum will be a pitcher with a completely different style. Relying chiefly on guile, Livan Hernandez has not lost since April 23.

 

Pitching matchup

NYM: RHP Livan Hernandez (3-1, 5.08 ERA)

Despite allowing 11 baserunners in six innings, Hernandez permitted just two to score Sunday against the Pirates -- and his offense gave him enough support to parlay that into a victory. Hernandez has now won two successive decisions, giving the Mets a measure of consistency -- if not complete reliability -- at the back end of their rotation. His next start comes against one of his seven former teams, the Giants, who hit Hernandez at a .301 clip over 18 2/3 innings last season. Hernandez was 1-1 in those three starts.

 

SF: RHP Tim Lincecum (3-1, 3.25 ERA)

Lincecum has won his last three decisions, although his most recent outing -- Sunday at Dodger Stadium -- resulted in a no-decision. The right-hander allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings, which seemed uncharacteristic of the Giants ace. But Lincecum also walked only one and struck out eight, giving him 48 strikeouts and seven walks in 36 innings spanning his last five starts. Lincecum owns a 6-0 record in 12 career starts during May.

 

Tidbits

With setup man J.J. Putz injured, Manuel said he would rely on Bobby Parnell and Pedro Feliciano in the eighth inning and Brian Stokes in the seventh. Stokes has jumped ahead of the struggling Sean Green on the bullpen depth chart, according to Manuel. ... Pitching coach Dan Warthen's father-in-law, 90-year-old Victor Horwitz, made history Thursday by becoming the oldest "balldude" in Giants history. The Giants often use senior citizens rather than children to field foul balls down the sidelines. ... The Mets have signed catcher Javier Valentin, the brother of Jose Valentin, to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo. Valentin, 33, has played parts of 10 seasons with the Twins, Rays and Reds.

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shows the difference between the 2 divisions- both teams came in with the same record but obviously worlds apart.

 

these guys from fox are such jerks

 

blu, I think the Giants hit the Mets at the wrong time. The Mets are playing well and showing something(at least me) a fight in them that I have not seen since 2006, even all of 2007 when they were good for 5 months or last year when they won 10 in a row.

I am impressed with the Giants as it stands with their pitching, particularly Lincecum and Cain and even some of the young arms out of the pen. I think with some added offense somewhere they have a real chance to be very competitive in the near future. IMO Rowand is a player you win with as is Molina. I know they are not superstars, but they are players you win with and I think the Giants are one big time player away from being a very good team as opposed to say a .500 or couple games north and south each way.

 

I would hope that Randy Johnson is adding something to those young kids, the lefty in particular who like a young Randy did seems to have trouble throwing strikes.

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