Blogs
Blogger Smackdown: Peter Baker Of The Good Phight
by Eric Simon
on Jul 3, 2009 5:21 PM EDT
0 comments
By virtue of powers beyond the understanding of our feeble human minds (i.e. luck and the relative crappiness of other NL East teams), the Mets head to Philadelphia tonight to begin a three-game series with the first-place Phillies, trailing the World Champions by just one game. To see what was going on in Philly I checked in with Peter Baker of SB Nation Phillies site The Good Phight.
You can read my answers to his questions here.
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Winning Streak Applesauce - Mets Sign Urbina, Royals Ban Rany, Joey Chestnut vs. Kobayashi
by JamesK
on Jul 3, 2009 9:20 AM EDT
in Link Dump
18 comments
Down 5-0 against a pretty darn good pitcher in Paul Maholm, the Mets came back to win in extra innings (but not without some Frankie drama mixed in). For the umpteenth time, can everyone stop saying this team lacks leadership/edge/grission? I'm looking at you John Franco.
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Grission Infinity: Mets 9, Pirates 8
by Eric Simon
on Jul 2, 2009 6:06 PM EDT
in Aftermath
30 comments
This game was just grission to the max. Tim Redding was terrible as usual, but the Mets' offense was explosive, unlike usual. Francisco Rodriguez was awful, unlike usual. Fernando Tatis and Ryan Church were heroes, also unlike usual.
1.5 games back pending tonight's Phillies/Braves game. The Mets could head to Philadelphia Friday night just a game back of the Phillies (and the Marlins), though at worst they'll be two games behind.
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Open Thread: Mets vs Pirates
by Eric Simon
on Jul 2, 2009 12:02 PM EDT
820 comments
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Rescheduled: John Sickels Live Chat, Tuesday 2pm EDT
by Eric Simon
on Jul 2, 2009 11:33 AM EDT
16 comments
Just a quick programming note to announce. John Sickels, prospect guru extraordinaire from Minor League Ball, will be taking your questions at 2pm EDT next Tuesday, July 7, right here at Amazin' Avenue. The format will be as follows:
- You will post your questions in the comments.
- John Sickels will reply to your comments with his answers.
Pretty straight-forward. John will stick around for as long as his schedule and his interest permits, so start thinking of your questions now and don't embarrass us or he'll never come back and it'll be all your fault.
UPDATE: Since today's game is at 12:35pm it didn't make much sense to have John come by at 2pm for the chat. We have rescheduled it for 2pm EDT next Tuesday, July 7.
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Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina
The international signing period begins today and the Mets have already entered the fray. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus confirms that the bonus paid to Ugueth Urbina's son is in excess of $1 million.
1 day ago
Eric Simon
20 comments
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Pelfrey Applesauce - Franco knows leadership, obnoxious Met fans, Indian-born pitchers
by Joe Budd
on Jul 2, 2009 9:47 AM EDT
in Link Dump
7 comments
It's nice when the Mets get great starting pitching. It's just so much more pleasant to watch. And, for those keeping track, that's two in a row that the Mets have won while I'm watching at work. Maybe my luck has changed.
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Is Pelfrey's Slider Coming Around?
by Sam Page
on Jul 2, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
in Analysis
20 comments
As Eric alluded to yesterday, Mike Pelfrey threw an unusually high number of bendy things in his dominating performance versus the Brewers (22 to be exact). Seeing Pelfrey confident in a secondary pitch is pretty exciting, as his lack of one has seemingly held him back from becoming a great pitcher. So was it in fact the slider which made a difference in yesterdays start?
Pelf's slider, which usually has about 3.5 inches of vertical movement, averaged just 2.2 inches this time. Sliders generally sit somewhere between curves and fastballs in terms of movement, and these looked less like fastballs than usual. The benefit of Pelfrey distinguishing his secondary offerings from his fastball should be obvious. Probably more importantly, he threw it for 68% strikes, more than even the fastball. The full list of results on the slider reads as follows:
- 1 Swinging Strike, 1 Called Strike
- 7 Foul Balls
- 7 Balls
- 3 Line Drives (2 Line Outs, 1 Hit)
- 2 Groundballs, 1 Flyball
These results hardly suggest a dominating "outpitch," but the 7 foul balls support the possibility that Pelfrey's slider is becoming more different than his fastball, keeping hitters off balance. The 2 lineouts suggest a little luck, although I didn't witness the alleged liners and can't comment on how hard they were hit.
Also of note is that Pelfrey effectively used it to get through the lineup the second time around. The first time through, he only threw 5, 4 of which were directed at Jody Gerut. The second time around the order, he threw 9 and the third time the Brewers' faced him, he used 10. Craig Counsell didn't see one until he accounted for the lone aforementioned hit in the sixth inning.
Ultimately, it seems to soon to draw conclusions, although the early results seem positive, albeit a bit mixed. His strikeouts came mostly on fastballs, but the threat of a good slider certainly makes his fastball all the more deadly in pitchers' counts. Watch for the number and results of Pelfrey's sliders going forward , they could indicate a real breakout.
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NL East Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia
|
39 | 37 | .513 | 0 | Lost 3 |
|
Florida
|
41 | 39 | .512 | 0 | Won 3 |
|
New York
|
39 | 39 | .500 | 1 | Won 2 |
|
Atlanta
|
38 | 40 | .487 | 2 | Won 4 |
|
Washington
|
22 | 54 | .289 | 17 | Lost 3 |
(updated 7.3.2009 at 12:45 PM EDT)
Current Series
3 game series vs Phillies @ Citizens Bank Park
|
New York Mets
Friday, Jul 3, 2009, 7:05 PM EDT Livan Hernandez vs Rodrigo Lopez Partly cloudy. Game time temperature around 80. |
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| Sat 07/04 | 4:05 PM EDT | |
| Sun 07/05 | 1:35 PM EDT | |
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
