Silva was golden
Carlos Silva came into 2010 as a bad pitcher with a worse contract, traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Chicago Cubs for a bad temper with a bad contract, Milton Bradley. Silva also entered 2010 as an April pitcher. Prior to 2010 Silva was 16-7 in the month of April, a winning percentage of .696 which far outshines his career winning percentage of .488. Silva gets paid for the full season but he earns his money in April, and that trend has continued in 2010. He entered tonight (April 21) with a 1-0 record and a 0.69 ERA. That’s not a misprint. So the Mets can take some satisfaction that the 1 run they scored off Silva in 6 innings tonight raised his season ERA to 0.95, but that 1 run which came on a Rod Barajas solo home run in the 2nd inning and gave the Mets a brief 1-0 lead wasn’t enough to beat Silva (2-0). The Cubs put up 9 runs to beat the New York Mets 9-3.
single run
The Cubs scored single runs in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings off Mets starter and loser Oliver Perez (0-2). In the 3rd Marlon Byrd hit a sacrifice fly. In the 4th a Geovany Soto RBI single drove home Alfonso Soriano who was the Cubs offensive star going 3 for 4 with a triple and a homer. In the 5th a Soriano RBI single plated Byrd and the Cubs led 3-1.
Manny Acosta, the brand new heavy
Perez left the game and brand new Met Manny Acosta came on in relief. Acosta was called up from AAA Buffalo to replace the injured Ryota Igarashi and he had 1 good inning, 1 bad inning. His good inning was the 6th in which he allowed 1 single but struck out the other 3 batters he faced. His bad inning was the 7th, in which he walked lead off batter Byrd, then 1 out later surrendered Soriano’s home run, a towering blast into the 2nd deck of spacious Citi Field. Acosta then walked Soto before being replaced by Raul Valdes who allowed the inherited runner to score for a 6-1 Cubs lead.
Not a good comeback
In the 8th the Mets mounted a comeback attempt against reliever Sean Marshall. Jose Reyes led off with a single and scored on Luis Castillo’s triple to right center. David Wright singled to drive in Castillo and make it 6-3 but that was as close as the Mets would get. In the top of the 9th the Cubs snuffed any ideas of the Mets coming back by scoring 3 runs off of Hisanori Takahashi and the Mets went quietly in the bottom of the 9th against Carlos Marmol. Cubs 9, Mets 3.
Ike Davis runs away and joins circus
The highlight of the game for the Mets came with 1 out in the top of the 1st inning. Jeff Baker popped up a foul ball that Mets 1st baseman Ike Davis trailed toward the dugout, then stuck out his glove catching the ball as he fell head first into the dugout.
25 comments
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:24pm at 11:24 pm (UTC -4)
Nice post Grave. I hate to admit it but give Silva credit for a well pitched game.
Lets take the positives.
1. Ike made a nice catch
2. Ollie didn’t implode and even though i have my reservations you can say he battled tonight.
3. Wright had an rbi
4. Ike had a hit
5. Barajas continues to contribute
Let me know if I am missing anything
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:26pm at 11:26 pm (UTC -4)
Oh
6. Bay had a assist.
metsfan4decades
4/21/2010-11:30pm at 11:30 pm (UTC -4)
Dang, I missed that play. Did he throw out a base runner at a base or one at the plate?
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:32pm at 11:32 pm (UTC -4)
At 2nd 4d.
metsfan4decades
4/21/2010-11:29pm at 11:29 pm (UTC -4)
Unusual for me, even though I had the game on from the start, I missed most of the details as I was on the phone for 3 hours…
So tonight unlike most nights, I appreciate the fast post game post to fill in the details my brain couldn’t register half paying attention…
Ugly – 9 walks? At one point, I was wondering if any pitcher we brought in could get some outs without surrendering a run. Ollie looked – ‘Eh’. Didn’t go deep, kept the damage minimal to keep us in the game. The rest is on the BP.
I see our dismal offense is continuing. Half didn’t get a hit and the other half only one? Can someone please tell me what’s wrong with Wright, Bay and even Franceour now? Actually, Franceour doesn’t surprise me all that much but Wright and Bay do…
I did see the dugout catch as Ike Davis was grabbing that ball. Held my breath there until he stood up uninjured.
And BTW, that new Ultra Slow Mo – or whatever they’re calling that – is too cool.
koose
4/21/2010-11:30pm at 11:30 pm (UTC -4)
The offence still stinks.15 games in and mr bay aint looking so offensive.I knew he was a streaky but at this rate he’s going to hit like 12 homeruns and even worse 40 rbis,this team is pressing and they are only 15 games in.
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:37pm at 11:37 pm (UTC -4)
Hey Koose, yes the offense is struggling boy how long have we been saying those words?
What can Jerry do to remedy the situation?
Some are for a consistent lineup some feel maybe it needs to be shaken up. I don’t feel strongly either way.
metsfan4decades
4/21/2010-11:32pm at 11:32 pm (UTC -4)
Listened to most of Jerry’s post game interview. He’s got three different line ups ready to go on his desk. Now he’s saying he wants to break up the 3 straight righties (I believe he said righties) in a row. So spin the wheel tomorrow and you get the prize if you picked the lineup he’ll be going with.
stickguy
4/21/2010-11:39pm at 11:39 pm (UTC -4)
assuming it is a RHP starting for the cubs, I will go with wright, bay, davis, frenchy.
But what he does with Pagan is a mystery too.
maybe reyes/castillo/wright/bay/pagan/frenchy/davis/catcher?
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:40pm at 11:40 pm (UTC -4)
I am not sure maybe someone can correct me but I believe he also suggested possibly batting Bay 2nd to get him more fastballs in hopes to get him going.
metsfan4decades
4/22/2010-7:01am at 7:01 am (UTC -4)
You are correct – he did mention possibly batting Bay 2nd.
asod75
4/21/2010-11:42pm at 11:42 pm (UTC -4)
Pagan should not be batting eighth, Jerry just seems to be playing roulette every night with the lineup. And tonight, he pretty much conceded defeat going with Valdes and Takahashi with all the right-handed bats the Cubs have. Although I guess I can forgive him for that, since the pen (namely Nieve) needed a night off. Mets had a shot to come back in the eighth, but Bay and Francouer showed no patience and got themselves out in three pitches and that was that. Tomorrow, the Mets go for the series win, which would be nice heading into an interesting early-season matchup with the Braves.
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:44pm at 11:44 pm (UTC -4)
Pagan may not be batting 8th for long.
asod75
4/21/2010-11:45pm at 11:45 pm (UTC -4)
The catchers should have the permanent No. 8 spot. Barajas has some pop, but a low batting average and on-base percentage. I don’t mind that because I love what our catchers are doing defensively. Just think they should be locked in at No. 8.
asod75
4/21/2010-11:44pm at 11:44 pm (UTC -4)
And when does HoJo’s job come into question? I loved HoJo as a player and he’s done some nice things with individual players (Francoeur comes to mind) but I hate this team’s approach at the plate.
Mr North Jersey
4/21/2010-11:52pm at 11:52 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t think any firings will happen till at least Memorial Day. I have no reason why I feel that way it’s just simply a guess but nevertheless I just think the team will be afforded 60 days before any firings.
stickguy
4/22/2010-1:10am at 1:10 am (UTC -4)
I think they were also hoping to have beltran back first, so being able to put a complete team on the field, before doing anything drastic.
Don’t think they will be able to wait that long though before deciding if a move needs to be made.
but from what I have seen so far, I am actually leaning toward them being good enough this year to get to the end with the manager and coaches in palce. Then house cleaned after the season if they don’t get to and do well in the playoffs.
koose
4/21/2010-11:51pm at 11:51 pm (UTC -4)
Frenchy needs a day off for sure ,Bay who knows what he needs maybe kids pitching to him.Wright is lost and also needs a day off.the bravos are comming in and we aint ready for that pitching yet. This upcomming series means more than a loss to the cubs tommorow for the sake of rest.
darknova306
4/22/2010-12:10am at 12:10 am (UTC -4)
The entire middle of the order needs a day or two off. This is getting ridiculous. We can’t count on the pitching staff keeping us in the game all season, these guys need to start hitting at some point.
gategem
4/22/2010-3:20am at 3:20 am (UTC -4)
The paid attendance of 25,684 was the smallest crowd since Citi Field opened last season. If this continues the loss in revenue from smaller than expected attendance and generally the loss of interest in the team could be greater than the savings from not signing, say, a Joel Pineiro in the previous off-season and could impact the Mets ability to afford premium free agents next off-season.
In the past few years the Yankees have started slowly. But this year they are off to a blistering start. Tonight Phil Hughes pitched no-hit ball for 7 innings and struck out 10 in 7 and 1/3 innings. The Yankees success further reduces the stature of the Mets in NYC but does allow the Mets to fly under the radar. As Mets fans that live in this town we know and appreciate what the Boston Braves and St. Louis Browns fans must have felt like.
gategem
4/22/2010-3:38am at 3:38 am (UTC -4)
I’m not trying to be negative but unfortunately being objective, at times, could be taken by some as only observing the dark side. Believe me, if the Mets situation warranted it my comments would be insanely positive. I’m not overlooking the fact that with a little luck this team could be in the post season. So there is an upside but if you intend to remain objective then you also have to comment on the immediate situation.
metsfan4decades
4/22/2010-7:04am at 7:04 am (UTC -4)
You are right. If the Mets don’t pick it up (specifically the offense here), we’ll be the ‘non story’ all summer…..
Kingman 26
4/22/2010-8:16am at 8:16 am (UTC -4)
Objectivity is always welcome.
This is a flawed group with two of its three best hitters doing nothing and the third on extended vacation.
And we have two real good starters and a decent grab bag after that.
Over 81 wins will be a miracle.
trs86
4/22/2010-8:23am at 8:23 am (UTC -4)
I can’t tell are you implying that if the Mets had signed Pineiro there would be more interest? It’s sad that the Mets win 2 games in a row and no one shows up and many of the ones that do are there just to show their displeasure.
trs86
4/22/2010-8:28am at 8:28 am (UTC -4)
So is Jerry going to go with the Willie school of thought and put Bay 2nd for a while?
Castillo, Bay, Reyes, Wright, Pagan, Frenchy, Davis, Barjas?
I have no idea anymore.
I still like the idea of Reyes 3rd but it appears he has pouted his way out of that. I mentioned the thoughts of Pagan 5th to break up the 3 RH and give a 2nd lead off but that does not bust up Wright and Bay the way Jerry intends.
Wright, Pagan, Bay, Davis, Frenchy could be a way to go.