Good rubber game win today guys!
First up Livan “The Cool” Hernandez. Talk about one of the most under rated signings in the off season. Livan lowered his era from over 4 to a cool 3.88 with his 7 innings 0 ER ball. The Nationals must hate facing this guy as in 2 starts against them this year, they only were able to scratch out 1 run in 16 innings of work. Livan has been nothing but money for the Mets and now is 5-1 for the season. So much for fighting to be the 5th starter.
Next up is David Wright. I think we are seeing the beginnings of Wright developing a leadership quality. Since Cliff Floyd left, David was said to be the next in line to be the leader of the Mets, better late then never. David even when he was cold was still hitting above .300. Since Carlos Beltrans verbal smack down for the Mets in the media, Wright has gone 7 for 10 and has raised his average from .326 to .345. Wright was out to make a point this series and show hustle. While he has tried to do this almost to a flaw(bone head plays on sat), he has definitely made his point at the plate. Well done.
Next up is Fernando Martinez. One day after the Mets decided to stick with Fmart over Brown(a difficult decision mind you ;p), Fmart responds by scoring two runs and hustling to cause the Nationals to commit their 54th error of the year. Fmart slowly but surely has been raising his average from .176 to .200. Opinions about Fmarts performance so far have been a dime a dozen, but i feel it is not fair to expect this kid to hit .300 and 20 HRs. Its hard to remember sometimes that this kid is 20 years old and has pretty much been labeled the savior of the Mets. While that may be one day, that day is not any time soon. I will say however that he has looked much more comfortable at the plate every time up and that is always a good thing.
Next up Dan “I eat pitchers for breakfast” Murphy. Murphy has had a bit of a cold streak of late but he definitely broke out of that today. Murphy went 2 for 4 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Murph is an important piece of this cog in my opinion because he can give the protection Wright needs in order to get pitches to hit. Plus on days that Sheffield plays and bats cleanup, Murphy can hit 6th or 7th to give us production down there to continue an offense strike. Daniel raised his average for the year to .247 and hopefully he is on his way to getting hot. The team could definitely use that.
Last up is Ryan Church. Welcome back Mr. Church first and foremost. Church responded well on his comeback going 2 for 5 and scoring a run. He also made some great plays in the field. Hopefully we will see more from Church as Manuel has said that Church will be his starter going forward. This could present an argument for those who feel that Fmart will be wasting his time sitting on the bench as most likely Sheffield will get the second starting spot. While this concern is valid, the Mets will soon face the Yankees and Manuel has said that Fmart will start while Sheffield occupys the DH. In either event, having Church back is a plus on this team and hopefully he can pick up where he left off.
10 comments
gategem
6/7/2009-7:27pm at 7:27 pm (UTC -4)
When Al Kaline was 20 his line for the Tigers was as follows:
152games, 588AB, 121R, 200H, .340BA, .421OBP, 27HR, 102RBI, .546SLG, .967OPS.
bucknersankles
6/7/2009-9:27pm at 9:27 pm (UTC -4)
By the time Kaline posted those numbers he’d already played in over 300 Major league games and had over
1,000 ABs.
Not to take anything away from big Al, but if you’re trying to compare Kaline with Fmart it’s not a fare comparison at this time.
GravediggerHebner
6/7/2009-7:54pm at 7:54 pm (UTC -4)
Who’s leading the “man up” derby so far, or is that a secret?
While Al Kaline’s line at age 20 is damned impressive, it was also 54 years ago. The game and the world has changed a lot since then. I hope Gategem was noting it for posterity’s sake, and not as a standard to hold FMart to. Kaline is lucky he wasn’t born about 10 years earlier or he might have been killed trying to wade ashore in France 11 years before he put up those numbers.
dirtysanchez
6/7/2009-7:58pm at 7:58 pm (UTC -4)
lol…its a 4 way tie
krod
gary
wright
omir
rustyjr
6/7/2009-7:55pm at 7:55 pm (UTC -4)
guys just got this from mlbtr
A report coming from the Associated Press says that Tom Glavine may file a grievance against the Atlanta Braves for releasing him on Wednesday.
There are a number of factors here, of course. The combination of money saved by releasing Glavine matches up well with the salary owed newly-acquired Nate McLouth.
Also, the Braves wanted room for Tommy Hanson, their top pitching prospect, in the rotation.
But left unsaid is what effect this may have on Glavine’s ability to sign with another team. To the extent that baseball protects its own, will owners want to give Glavine a job?
just wondering if good ol’ Tommy boy is devestated – I sure the hell not
Mr North Jersey
6/7/2009-7:56pm at 7:56 pm (UTC -4)
OK fasten your seat belts after 55 games we are 30-25 overall and pending the Phillie results are currently 2.5 games back. In May we are 2-4 so far.
Last year after 55 games the Mets were 28-27 3.5 games back and over the next 21 games went 9-12 against the likes of the Giants, Padres, Angels, and Rockies that involved 2 west coast trips in the same month thus giving them a 37-39 record while only losing a half game in the standings putting them 4 games back.
Some suggest this year the next 21 games can define our season. We play the Phillies, Yankees, and Rays to name a few. How will we look after the next 21 games?
I sure hope we go no worse than 8-13 putting us at 38-38. I have to believe at .500 we still have a fighting chance with the All-Star break on the horizon and the hope that teams will be more prone to deal players. We may be able to reload and with one more bullet or two make a final push into making all this suffering worth while in the end.
Buckle Up.
metsfaninindia
6/7/2009-11:59pm at 11:59 pm (UTC -4)
Honestly, and I don’t know why, I was more worried about the preceding games against the Pirates and the Nationals. I just can’t shake the feeling that the next 21 will be fine. We’ll all be pleasantly surprised.
metsfan4decades
6/7/2009-7:59pm at 7:59 pm (UTC -4)
5 guys get the honor for Man Up Awards tonight. I like that. Means several are contributing to the wins, as opposed to one guy carrying the team on his back. Keep it up, boys.
Kudos to Livan. Just can’t say enough about what he’s done so far this year.
Bring on the Phils!
bucknersankles
6/7/2009-9:58pm at 9:58 pm (UTC -4)
Case, Dirty, Rusty and the rest of the Dirty Crew, What’s Up ?
I’ve logged in a few times this week with enough time to skim some of the comments.
I read the transcript of the Cerone interview, Quite interesting, It seemed as though Matt was a little stuffy in the begining, maybe it’s the way I interpreted his initial wording, oh well, not a big deal.
Good to see this site holding its own, as I stated before it’s an excellent format with first rate pics, graphics and threads.
OK, enough sucking up to you guys.
I agree with the “man up” awards, and I also really dug the hell out of that Mets outfield today, MARTINEZ, BELTRAN AND CHURCH I could get used to an alignment like that.
I don’t know about you guys but my boy Fernando is starting to look a little more relaxed out there.
The kid busted hump to first and ended up on second, so kudos to Fmart for learning his lesson.
I also want to see him play against lefties, he demonstrated his ability to hit lefty pitching in AAA batting 306 against them.
He’s got a fluid and explosive stroke, if he’s up here then he needs to play with consistecy to continue his developement.
But, hey, I’m preaching to the choir here, I’m just hoping Jerry tunes in to this blog ………… HEY JERRY, PLAY THE KID EVERYDAY.
On another note, I am proud of our team for hanging tough not so much against the Nats, but comming off that grueling May schedule and being in the position we’re in (of course I wanted better) and having our man johan getting the ball tuesday, I’m liking it.
CaseStreet
6/8/2009-12:42am at 12:42 am (UTC -4)
hey buckner, glad you stopped by to say hello. Today’s outfield is definitely nice to see. It may end up being the permanent OF w/ Shef and his hamstring issues. I do hope Church has a strong comeback, he’s so key for the Mets this year.