More Video Reviews Please: Mets 7, Nationals 4

by Eric Simon on May 28, 2009 12:43 AM EDT

Another game, another video review by the umpires, another call going the Mets' way. This time it was Daniel Murphy's flyball in the sixth, originally ruled a double, that was overturned and credited as a two-run homerun to the Hammah. SNY replays were inconclusive, though one angle did provide a compelling argument for the "ball changed trajectory" case. From the video evidence available it didn't look like the umpires made an obviously bad call, though I can't quite imagine what they saw that provided sufficiently irrefutable visual data to actually overturn it. The result was especially propitious for the Mets, as Gary Sheffield had initially been tagged out at home after the ball had fallen into play. What Sheffield was thinking on that play, with zero outs no less, is anybody's guess. This review makes it four in five games for the Mets, three involving Sheffield in some capacity.

Prior to Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Johan Santana had walked as many as six batters in a game only three times in his career. All three were with during his years with the Twins, the last of which occurred in 2002 and saw Santana issue seven free passes, the most of his career. For a fun comparison, Oliver Perez has had fourteen starts of six walks or more, including onc this season and two last season. He has 42 starts of five-plus walks, while Santana still has just three total (all three were six-plus).

On this night, Santana was encumbered by iffy control and a tightfisted strike zone courtesy of home plate umpire Sam Holbrook, but still managed -- on grission alone, one would imagine -- to scratch his way through six innings, striking out eleven Nats in the process. He really just had the dismal fourth inning, during which he issued four of his six walks and allowed two of his three hits. Over the other five frames he allowed no runs, one hit and two walks, striking out ten.

Four relievers combined to allow just one unearned run over the final three innings, walking a batter (Putz) and surrendering just two hits. Bobby Parnell had a nice bounceback game after his bout of wildness the other night, striking out two of the three batters to face him.

Fernando Martinez went 0-for-4, narrowly missing an infield hit in the fourth. He also contributed a nice play in right field to rob Adam Dunn of a hit in the fifth. He'll get his first big league hit eventually, though with Thursday's off-day he'll have to wait until Friday for his next opportunity.

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Federal Baseball Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Daniel Murphy, +31.7% WPA, Gary Sheffield, +15.7% WPA
Big losers: Fernando Martinez, -7.7% WPA, Fernando Tatis, -5.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Murphy two-run homerun in sixth, +21.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Dunn donkey blast in fourth, -15.2% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +16.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: +33.8% WPA
GWRBI!: Daniel Murphy

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsGeek; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	MetsGeek	120
2	PSUdevon	118
3	aparkermarshall	90
4	JohnPeterson	74
5	EMSfan9	73
6	MordecaiBrown3	73
7	All Shook Down	55
8	jasondg	52
9	pingel	51
10	Prince	50

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Comments

Santana ripping the Umps in the postgame was nice

I never watch those things, but I was curious to see if Santana would speak his mind on the Umps (he usually does).

For anyone who was at the game, were people booing David Wright? After carrying the team on his back during the road trip?

And did I really hear “Castro sucks”???

I will not allow the denigration of the life essence

by GenJackRipper on May 28, 2009 12:57 AM EDT reply actions

I was there

Heard no boos for Wright, though there might have been some upset fans at the called third strike in his last AB after Johan was getting so few calls. That’s how I took it, and I’m stickin to it.

However, the Metsblog Santos propoganda, I did get a vibe that it had caught on a bit, and that people were wondering where short-swing was and who the hell this big slow hippo looking guy was.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 1:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Hippo didn't really help himself

he looked pretty crappy at the plate tonight, his fortunate double notwithstanding.

by Eric Simon on May 28, 2009 1:09 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah he did

Lotta whiffs. Though I imagine Santos might not look too great after a week of rotting on the bench either. Just speculation though, with that short swing, its amazing he doesn’t make contact on everything.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 1:11 AM EDT up reply actions

Jerry doesn't like him because he looks like a Latin Frankenberry

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.

by AnthonyR on May 28, 2009 9:16 PM EDT up reply actions

I like it. Comparison:

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on May 28, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Unbelievable

Seriously, Cerrone is f***ing retarded and has too much influence. SNY owns Metsblog. Get Berg on it and confine Cerrone to news updates without dimwitted commentary.

And from watching this clip, I could swear that Cerrone belongs to this family.

I will not allow the denigration of the life essence

by GenJackRipper on May 28, 2009 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Thanks for Eric Simon for the clip

I will not allow the denigration of the life essence

by GenJackRipper on May 28, 2009 1:38 AM EDT up reply actions

fuck those people

Hippo >>>>> life. he needs career highs in everything and that depends on jerry’s shitty lineup-making skillz

by BlackOps on May 28, 2009 2:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Grission!

No Reyes, no Beltran, no problem! Sweep the god-awful Nationals, as teams with grission should do.

Funny anecdote, I was at my business school graduation tonight, and then stopped by a bar with some classmates where the game was on. Just as Murphy’s HR is in review, someone at the bar turns the TV over to the Lakers-Nuggets game. I just started yelling, “what the hell? Where did the Mets game go? Put it back on!” I was PISSED, especially since they flipped away at such an important point. When they got it back, it was 5-3, and I knew the call had (correctly) been reversed to HR.

I have to disagree with you, Eric, it looked gone to me live, and the replays showed a change in trajectory pretty clearly off the “Subway” sign, I thought.

Somehow, a chain of events unfolded that put Steve Phillips in a professional broadcast booth Sunday night so he could rip Carlos Beltran. Try to explain that in any other terms.

by Greenpoint Ian on May 28, 2009 1:01 AM EDT reply actions

For what it's worth

Gary and Ron both found it inconclusive. Further, Kevin Burkhardt spoke with the folks sitting in the seats above the sign, who all agreed the ball fell in and wasn’t a homerun, while the folks sitting in the section beneath the sign unanimously agreed the ball was a homerun.

Interestingly, nobody Burkhardt spoke with heard a sound when the ball hit (or didn’t hit) the metal “Subway” sign.

by Eric Simon on May 28, 2009 1:07 AM EDT up reply actions

interesting

It looked to me on one of the replays like there was a clear change in trajectory, which I imagine is what the umps saw.

Somehow, a chain of events unfolded that put Steve Phillips in a professional broadcast booth Sunday night so he could rip Carlos Beltran. Try to explain that in any other terms.

by Greenpoint Ian on May 28, 2009 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Is the sign metal?

I can see how the fans below would have a better POV of the change in direction. I’ll admit it’s not the most clear-cut call, but the ball definitely seemed to drop off the bottom of the sign. Anyone want to bet Subway’s ad people get a call tomorrow about changing the color of the sign?

by BobbyV_Incognito on May 28, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Its interesting

I was there, sitting in the promenade around 3B, and I thought it was gone for sure. But then I went to get a dog and a beer, and I heard Burkhart saying the fans in the Pepsi Porch thought it never touched the sign, while the fans underneath the sign all thought it did.

Interestingly enough, they announced that it was an estimated 395 shot, in which case, puh-lease, that’s easily gone, even with the Mo’s Zone nook.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 1:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Grission!

It is amazing that the Mets can score 7 runs with that lineup. Either they have discovered Grission or the Nats pitching is really shitty.

No night spent pantsless is a wasted night.

by sireric on May 28, 2009 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions

No Fernando bashing for his lack of gristle on that popup? ;)

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 1:09 AM EDT reply actions

ok

F-
FARTINEZ
F?
WTF!

Jerry Manuel...stop being....stupid...

by MetsGeek on May 28, 2009 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Lol it was bad

But I’m pretty sure the awful feeling he felt when he saw Nieves fail to catch the ball was pennance a’ plenty, and I doubt we see him make that kind of mistake again anytime soon.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions

eh

I was at the game as well – let’s be honest, 90+% of ML players don’t run that out. From where I was I thought it was popped foul initially. It ended up being a bad play only b/c the Nationals suck so bad.

by cjmulrain on May 28, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah that's true

Honestly, I was really more worried about the massive overreaction that was bound to occur than I actually was about the implications about the play itself and whatever it may or may not have said about F!’s character.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions

not me

I am more worried about the massive underreaction from the organization to this type of thing. I pointed out in the game thread that I think he deserves to be ripped, criticized, and the immediate reply was one "I hate people supercilious people who say things like that to a few other incredulous posts. Of course, this is not the typical reaction, nor is the reaction on this site important, but I do think it represents a groundswell of people saying running it out is unimportant.

In a rookie, I find it pretty annoying. Not the end of thw world though, and as you pointed out in the game thread, a lot of folks booing you at the time does the trick pretty well.

Manuel was pretty calm about it afterwards. Didn’t threaten to strangle him.

What about the misplayed pop-up along the stands? The radio guys thought he may be scared due to all his inuries, and of course, he isn’t that familiar with the grounds yet.

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 4:34 AM EDT up reply actions

"In a rookie, I find it pretty annoying."

Does this mean you don’t find it annoying in a veteran?

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on May 28, 2009 7:59 AM EDT up reply actions

yes

but a little less annoyed if a veteran slogging through a season, maybe slightly hurt does it, or someone like manny, who kind of has a track record. Maybe that is foolish. But someone in his second game in the majors? You’d think the slackness and job aspect of it all wouldn’t have set in yet. Not shocking any more, but yes, annoying.

Oh well. I have harped on it enough. His mind just wandered and he was more focused on being pissed about popping up.

What did you make of him and Murph on the pop up to the stands? Radio guys thought he may have been afraid of injury. I thought it was just a mix up.

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions

I missed that play

so I can’t really comment on it.

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on May 28, 2009 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions

It was terrible

If there weren’t so many injuries I would be all in favor of benching or sending him back to AAA. There’s no reason for a rookie to do something like that…he should always run everything out (I know other guys don’t, but they are vets).

If it was any other guy that just got called up, they would have gotten ripped. I hope F! learned his lesson.

Sorry if I sound too harsh…but I do think he deserves to be criticized for this one

by metsman07 on May 28, 2009 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh, I thought we were on to this fielding play now

But, as far as the failure to run out the pop-up goes, I would hope we’d all be as incensed about it if a veteran failed to run it out. I don’t see any reason why a guy with 10 years in the majors should get a pass; if anything, those guys should know better from all of their experience.

I’m not excusing the play; I’m just saying I disagree with the notion that we should give veterans a pass. You either run it out or you don’t, rookie or not rookie.

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on May 28, 2009 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree with you about not giving a vet a free pass

But I think it’s more important for a rookie to get in the habit of running EVERYTHING out. It would be nice to see the team develop some good habits instead of bad ones.

by metsman07 on May 28, 2009 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

The fielding play

I can totally understand F! stopping short on that one, because he hasn’t played enough right field at Citi to get a feel for it yet and that fence will eventually hurt someone.

by metsman07 on May 28, 2009 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions

experience

has little to do with it at that stage. Everyone is told to run it out since little league.

You are right. Of course. The vets shouldn’t be excused either. Piazza didn’t run’em out either after being a vet of many years. In the back of my mind I always thought maybe it is all that squatting, saving the knees. But likely just because he was a hitting machine when young.

I will say, I always hated Pete Rose. I went to the 1973 playoff game where he and harrelson had that fight. I don’t mind that he hustled. But it was the bs hustle, running to first on a walk. Ending Ray Fosse’s career in the all star game laying him out. That nickname was from vets who hated his guts when he came up.

Anyway, it was mostly just the harrelson fight, but it put all his other traits in a bad light in my mind.

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions

meant to say

I probably was justifying for Piazza because he was so good.

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree with you that the BS hustle is terrible

Like Eckstein, even Murphy really legs out the walks.

I’m more concerned that it isn’t habitual for this team sometime. It has nothing to do with ‘edge’ ‘grit’ or ‘grission’

I think it has more to do with perfecting everything through practicing, spring training, etc, and carrying it over to games. That’s all. In this case, F! should have run because the ball never went foul…it would have looked a lot worse if they lost.

by metsman07 on May 28, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

It was pretty bad

Physical errors don’t bother me at all, but stuff like that does. Run it out F!

by James Kannengieser on May 28, 2009 9:25 AM EDT up reply actions

If it was any other player

I’d agree with you. But this is one of the more delicate situations in the organization for the moment. He certainly deserves reprimanding, what he did was inexcusable, but he’s also just 20 years old and completely humiliated himself in front of 40,000 people in just his second big league game, in what was really as much a freak situation as it was a play that demanded 100% hustle. You have to send him the right message, but its difficult to know how he’d react if you push the wrong button.

The pop-up I didn’t think was a major issue. Sure, he could have tried to make a play, but it was his first experience in an unusual situation. He’d had all of 48 hours to familiarize himself with the ballpark. Ryan Church had more time than that before he even had his first major league game, and he didn’t have all the other hoopla of a rookie super-prospect callup to deal with. And when he made up for it by handling himself on that catch by the Mo’s Zone, I think he more than made up for it.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 29, 2009 3:26 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't think I've heard Howie Rose more upset

Seriously, he was supermad at Fernando Martinez. He even accused him of watching too much tv!

by TheBigStapler on May 28, 2009 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Just got back from the game

what a strange one – Santana was light’s out for 3 innings, the wheel’s completely came off in the 4th, and somehow he gritted through 2 more innings after that despite clearly not being at the top of his game. It was like Bizarro Ollie.

Wright looked awful, and the people in the section around me were complaining about how terrible he is. Yea, I fucking hate guys who hit .423/.526/.641 over the previous 22 games. Guys like that suck. Also, one of the guys behind me was insisting that he heard that Wright was gay – which, if true, I have no problem with (though I doubt it’s true based on some stories I’ve heard from some girls who claimed to have met DW), but the insinuation reminded me of the Piazza stuff, and it was obviously being implied in a negative way. Why do Mets fans not appreciate our superstars?

Finally – the crowd actually booed F! in the at-bat after he didn’t run out the pop-out that the Nationals grittily let bounce (or suckily, your choice). Can we give our top prospect more than 8 at-bats before we start booing him, please?

by cjmulrain on May 28, 2009 1:27 AM EDT reply actions

if Wright is gay

I’m first in line.

I guess….

by BlackOps on May 28, 2009 2:21 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Take a number, pal

by Eric Simon on May 28, 2009 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions

I didn't boo

And it pained me greatly to hear it, but it was going to happen, it was inevitable, when you get caught with your pants down like that, even if it was a 1 in 1,000 chance, its just what’s going to happen. He knew it walking up there, everyone in the dugout new it. In fact, I spent the next inning or so after that incident dreading what was going to happen when when/if he got another shot, but it was completely inevitable assuming Jerry left him in there.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 28, 2009 2:45 AM EDT up reply actions

who actually boos?

or hisses?

My reaction at the game would be more like “jeezus, run, rookie.”

But the collective sound was “booo.”

Maybe they weren’t booing, but saying “rooookie”

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 5:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright have all gotten booed

At one time or another. Its stupid, embarrassing even, that it happens, but it does.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 29, 2009 2:58 AM EDT up reply actions

BTW, is anyone interested in going to Friday's game?

I have 2 extra tickets (promenade, section 424), and I’ve already asked all the Met fans I know.

by BobbyV_Incognito on May 28, 2009 1:32 AM EDT reply actions

I'd be very interested in going to the game Friday

Email me at marshallfan123@yahoo.com if that offer still stands please

by njmetfan12 on May 28, 2009 2:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Always a good idea:

posting your email address in a public comments section.

by Eric Simon on May 28, 2009 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions

This is true

I can be reached at chunkylover53@aol.com.

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on May 28, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I’m pretty certain that I don’t want to click on that link.

No night spent pantsless is a wasted night.

by sireric on May 28, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Haha

by Sokojoe on May 28, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Livan??

by cjmulrain on May 28, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions

I have a couple emails,

I don’t really care who knows about that one

by njmetfan12 on May 28, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Iommi is missing his fingertips on his right hand

due to a machine press accident and he still rocks, gamer.

by Sokojoe on May 28, 2009 1:49 AM EDT reply actions

He rocks with grission

by Eric Simon on May 28, 2009 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I was very happy with tonight's game

I’m really starting to like Pagan, although I still don’t agree w/ Manuel pinch hitting him for Murphy in San Francisco. I think Pagan will be a very solid fourth outfielder and a solid contributor. I’m a little worried about Wright because he struck out looking and took alot of pitches down the plate, which can be indicative of guessing on pitches, but I’m willing to chalk that up to one bad game and hope that he’s ready to keep hitting on Friday.

by njmetfan12 on May 28, 2009 2:15 AM EDT reply actions

I love Pagan

since his Tides days, but Evans still should be up with the Mets. Hopefully all works out for him

by BlackOps on May 28, 2009 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions

evans?

I don’t think he should be up. Maybe if he got to half the Mendoza line.

He got screwed up somehow. I think he’ll be fine, though.

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 5:04 AM EDT reply actions

Evans got screwed by Lady Luck

and she’s a harsh mistress.

by Sokojoe on May 28, 2009 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions

just bad luck on balls in play?

that’s about the worst luck ever, then. He’s been k’ing a lot.

by wobatus on May 28, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions

His K rate was up in AAA

but so was his BB rate, his BB/K was actually better than in AA, his BABIP was .089 so maybe he started losing faith in hitting the ball and instead started taking pitches just to get on base. He’ll bounce back.

by Sokojoe on May 28, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions

The reports I heard

Were that he looked absolutely lost at the plate, his ABs were pitcher-esque. I mean, the thing is, even if you give him another .100 or .150 BABIP points, that still would have had him in the .200 / .300 / .375 range. So yeah, he was pretty unlucky, but the luck was the difference between really bad and as godawful as a hitter can be. He just doesn’t have the power profile or on base ability to justify striking out more than once every three ABs like he has been this year, even if his walk rate is up a tick. He has a .286 BABIP since joining Bingo, and he’s still just hitting .208 / .240 / .417. Obviously, he’s more talented that he’s shown. But in the context of his career thus far, its making 2008 look like the aberration. He’s a career .269 / .336 / .466 hitter in the minors playing at age appropriate levels, with a .120 point OPS dropoff vs RHP compared to vs LHP, and he’s a pure 1B/LF all the way. He’s still young enough to build a career for himself, obviously, but it was hard enough to see him as an everyday regular even after his solid 2008 campaign, and that goal is clearly farther away now than it was a year ago. My guess is he settles in eventually as a part time player on a mid or small market AL team that could use a bat to fill in vs LHP at 1B, LF, and DH. That seems like a better situation for him than trying to make a career as a pinch hitter in the NL, where he’s just not versatile enough defensively to ever become terribly useful.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on May 29, 2009 3:18 AM EDT up reply actions