Cubs 7, Mets 6: Longballs Ruin Dickey's Afternoon Delight

by James Kannengieser on Sep 3, 2010 5:10 PM EDT

R.A. Dickey looked strong early on -- he allowed just one baserunner through the first three frames. But two big innings, each punctuated by a Cubbie three-run homer with two outs, were his undoing. Alfonso Soriano went yard in the fourth inning and Blake DeWitt did the deed in the sixth.

To the Mets' credit, they didn't completely fold after falling behind on two separate occasions. Lucas Duda smacked an RBI double (first MLB hit, congrats Duda) to tie it at four after Soriano's blast, then David Wright and Luis Hernandez added solo homers after falling behind 7-4. Yeah that's right, Luis Hernandez hit a home run. Six runs scored is a rarity for the Mets' lineup. However, chances to pile on some serious offense were missed, as ten men were left on base.

David went 3-for-5 with the aforementioned solo homer and also a two-run double in the first inning. His OPS is now .878, creeping up to his career mark of .902. Angel Pagan returned to the starting lineup and also went 3-for-5. If Jose Reyes returns, this lineup just might look respectable again.

Random notes:

Duda made a great throw to double off Xavier Nady at first base after catching Geovany Soto's line drive in the bottom of the eighth. His defense has been a pleasant surprise, considering the negative scouting reports from his time in the minors.
Manny Acosta allowed two singles in 1.2 innings of relief but was generally effective. He struck out one and induced four swinging strikes in 27 pitches (14.8%, an excellent rate). It's fun to use the Acostalypse nickname and all, but he has been decent out of the bullpen this season. Should a sub-4.00 FIP be expected again next year? Probably not.
Certain players draw the ire of GKR for various reasons, usually due to a perception of poor hustle. B.J. Upton is one. Yunel Escobar another. Soriano incensed Gary today, after making a poor attempt to catch Wright's double in the first inning. The criticism of Soriano continued and seemed a bit over-the-top. Expect more the next couple games.
Keith, at one juncture of the game, during a Soto at-bat I believe: "If you take a fastball here you should be shot. Summarily shot. Up against the wall."

Game two of the series is tomorrow at 1:05, with Jenrry Mejia set to make his first MLB start. Carlos Zambrano starts for the Cubs.

Unintentionally sexual quote of the game: "Dickey being touched up" -- Gary Cohen

Poem by Howard Megdal

Mets put up six-spot in Friday matinee
But Dickey's home run balls get in victory's way

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Bleed Cubbie Blue Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: David Wright +23.5%, Lucas Duda +15.3%
Big losers: R.A. Dickey -54.8% (as pitcher), Josh Thole -17.9%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Lucas Duda RBI double +17.8%
Teh sux0rest play: Alfonso Soriano three-run homer -33.8%
Total pitcher WPA: -49.1%
Total batter WPA: -0.9%
GWRBI!: Blake DeWitt

Game Thread Roll Call

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

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	aparkermarshall	86
2	MookieTheCat	73
3	Jsz	71
4	deadspy3	68
5	jdon	68
6	KeithsMoustache	61
7	James Kannengieser	61
8	CTRefJay	58
9	Kepler	52
10	Gina	33

Tweet Comment 58 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

And here I was hoping the headline would be

“Dickey proves ineffective, removed after two blasts”

Which is probably why I don’t write for the main page.

by Jeffrey Paternostro on Sep 3, 2010 5:24 PM EDT reply actions

Though...

wouldn’t two blasts be evidence of an effective Dickey?

by Jack Str on Sep 3, 2010 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Well played

Image credit to astromets

by hotspur on Sep 3, 2010 8:02 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

No HVW reference?

That’s poor James, poor.

by MookieTheCat on Sep 3, 2010 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

It's better if it's just ignored...forever

There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ

The 2010 Mets- Hey, we may suck, but what did you expect?

by Syler on Sep 3, 2010 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Aw, fuck.

I thought the game was tonight…#$%^&&$%^&()

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 3, 2010 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

You didn't miss much...

by MookieTheCat on Sep 3, 2010 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, except for possibly the most inappropriate AA post ever.....

And the poster had no idea what it was. It was fairly awesome in a lot of different ways.

by MookieTheCat on Sep 3, 2010 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions

What was the post?

by Shevshevy on Sep 3, 2010 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Dont think you wanna know

Consequences will never be the same.

by NetsMets4Life on Sep 3, 2010 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Like the snows of yesteryear

It’s gone from this earth

by James Kannengieser on Sep 3, 2010 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Go back in the gamethread...

Find the point where everyone says some form of “WTF is that” or “Is that what I think it is” at the same time and a photo has been removed. Oh wait, James removed the entire thread. Oh well, see CTRefJay’s post at 1:00 PT for an apt description of what the post was.

by MookieTheCat on Sep 3, 2010 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions

I was in the "WTF is that" crowd.

The HVW is the name it was given by a poster who quickly identified it.

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Hairy Volkswagen?

Image credit to astromets

by hotspur on Sep 3, 2010 8:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

not even close

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

TELL US!!!111!!1!!!!!!!!11!!!!!1111!1

Yeah, I thought it was a night game too. Whatever though, the only thing I missed was this:

“If you take a fastball here you should be shot. Summarily shot. Up against the wall.”

I bet Jerry Manuel just bunted.

by GilbertP on Sep 3, 2010 9:16 PM EDT up reply actions

See, that was the problem

As potent as Dickey is, even he was no match for the HVW.

by secret defense on Sep 3, 2010 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Only Derek Hyman is.

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I missed my opportunity to embiggen a Dickey gamethread, what are you talking about!!

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 3, 2010 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Speaking of Manny, and STILL not getting it, he is rumored to have said

“I think everything was my fault. . .

Hey, it was my fault. When I saw Youkilis I said, ‘Hey, what happened between you and me, I’m sorry. That’s my fault. . .

So it takes a real man just to go and tell a person it was my fault. That’s what I did."

Uh, Manny? It takes a real man to apologize to the person you’ve offended, then to STFU about instead of bragging about what a real man you are.

But keep working on it. You may get there eventually.

He would have been such a perfect fit for these Mets.

by Jack Str on Sep 3, 2010 6:34 PM EDT reply actions

I really like R.A., but today...

Dickey sucked.

by Russ on Sep 3, 2010 6:41 PM EDT reply actions

Dickey's knuckler was a bit limp today

by TomCarvel on Sep 3, 2010 6:47 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs

Rec'd

by Shevshevy on Sep 3, 2010 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Everything in this discussion seems to have gone over my head.

I don’t like that feeling.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 3, 2010 8:15 PM EDT reply actions

It's better that way....honestly

I’d much prefer not having seen what I saw in that gamethread. Your eyes are spared.

There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ

The 2010 Mets- Hey, we may suck, but what did you expect?

by Syler on Sep 3, 2010 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

You don’t want the HVW going over your head. You might get sucked up into one of those bad boys. Or bad girls, perhaps.

by deadspy3 on Sep 3, 2010 8:49 PM EDT up reply actions

I feel like this is simultaneously the worst/best inside joke evar.

Jerrible, one might say.

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm disappearing everyone's knowledge of the joke

Look into this tool I have here -

by James Kannengieser on Sep 3, 2010 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions

So, so confused...

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 3, 2010 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Im going to call it the Jerrible VW, or for short the JVW

Even though the others call it HVW

Consequences will never be the same.

by NetsMets4Life on Sep 3, 2010 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions

See CTRefJay comment at 1:00 is you want to know what it is...

Not being repeated here.

by MookieTheCat on Sep 3, 2010 9:32 PM EDT up reply actions

IT'S A TRAP!

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions

your tool is fictional and does not work, Cannonlazer.

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 9:26 PM EDT up reply actions

no credit and no moral victories

we have to be cruel to be kind

by jdon on Sep 3, 2010 8:35 PM EDT reply actions

Gary seems to get all over Dickey when he gets roughed up

Side note: I don’t know about everyone else but I am not really a fan of Gary announcing. He is very annoying to me with his squeaky like voice and his hr call is so obnoxious; especially when his voice cracks, like it did one time and was kinda funny.

by TomCarvel on Sep 3, 2010 9:34 PM EDT reply actions

I love Gary

by Pack Bringley on Sep 3, 2010 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Gary's awesome

Could do without some of the moralizing but he’s still one of the best. Hope he’s here for a long time.

by James Kannengieser on Sep 3, 2010 10:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Same.

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Sep 3, 2010 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Squeaky voice?

Really?

GKR is one of the best booths in MLB. You’d have to regularly tune into several others to appreciate how much better then others they really are.

by MetsFan4Decades on Sep 3, 2010 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions

The Dodgers announcer didn't know what a mullet is as of a few weeks ago.

by Shevshevy on Sep 3, 2010 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, gotta go with the majority here...

Gary is one of the best. Spend a few weeks watching oh, the Marlins announcers and you will see exactly how great Gary is.

by MookieTheCat on Sep 3, 2010 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions

or listen to one game of Rob Dibble

"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"

by feslenraster on Sep 4, 2010 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't think he has a squeaky voice

but I think his home run call is “too angry”. He does talk too much, and some of it is moralizing. He just strikes me as a guy who is too full of himself, especially when his only youthful connection to the sport was probably Strato-matic. That said, you are right, Game calling, particularly baseball, does suck everywhere else. We do not suck. Everybody talks way too much. I think that the sport in general should try to make the TV experience more like the live experience, insead of inundating us with inane stats and useless opinionating.

by jdon on Sep 4, 2010 6:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I like Gary

I agree that sometimes his posturing is a little much, and there was the whole BABIP thing, but overall I think he’s great

by deadspy3 on Sep 3, 2010 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Gary-Ron-Keith are second only to Scully

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 3, 2010 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions

the dodgers only need one guy

geez, I remember watching Scully in Brooklyn. I always loved the guy, til 1986, when I was certain that he and Baldy were openly rooting for the red Sox. great pipes, though.

by jdon on Sep 4, 2010 6:36 AM EDT up reply actions

You can tell that GKR

are getting fed up with this season. The sarcasm/biting wit is breaking out in force

"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
-Adam Savage

by blueandorange4life on Sep 3, 2010 11:35 PM EDT reply actions

and let us not forget

Steve Zabriskie—I probably should not complain, when Wayne Hagin is lurking on the perimeter

by jdon on Sep 4, 2010 6:39 AM EDT up reply actions

he actually gave a weather report on Mets Extra

after the game yesterday. Did I care that it looked like rain? Talk about diarrhea of the mouth…

by jdon on Sep 4, 2010 6:40 AM EDT up reply actions

It never did rain, either...

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 4, 2010 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

GKR

is one of the best, and I’m not being a homie either. I have MLB package and most of the announcers make me want to q-tip my own ear drums.

"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"

by feslenraster on Sep 4, 2010 3:11 AM EDT reply actions

I used to like LIndsay, Ralph and Bob

Bob the least, he always sugarcoated things. It is just the style of today, this wave of words that drives me nuts. I would call it sensory overload, since almost none of it requires anything of my intellect.

by jdon on Sep 4, 2010 6:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Who are the Seattle guys?

They’re not too bad.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Sep 4, 2010 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Alright then

I guess with all this disagreement i recent most of what i said. I have not listened to other announcers although, but I still have some quibbles with his announcing style. But then i guess i have to go with the majority and say he is good. Nvm then

by TomCarvel on Sep 4, 2010 3:51 AM EDT reply actions

GKR?

I have to say, I’m really surprised that they have so much support around here. Over the past few years, I’ve begun to find them virtually unwatchable (unlistenable?). Gary seems to do nothing but moralize, and almost always against players of color; Keith just doesn’t care what comes out of his mouth; and Ron, by far the best of the three, is heavily influenced by the other two’s shenanigans. I cringe or press mute multiple times every game. Am I really alone in this?

by magisme on Sep 4, 2010 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

i imagine it's because you haven't been exposed to many other announcing teams

i think most of us who live out of the market would agree there’s virtually no comparison

mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon

by Gina on Sep 4, 2010 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybe

My heart breaks for viewers in other markets, then.

by magisme on Sep 4, 2010 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

keith

has become a caricature of himself, He is hardly a color commentator any more. And his constant swing-level-get-in-front-of-the-ball-spiel any LL coach could claim ownership of. What makes him listenable is the other stuff that could come out of his mouth at any time: the " this team has quit" stuff, or the anti-women stuff, or the Rizzuto-like whining about the length of games. I think Keith has a deleterious effect on Ronnie, who was very good his first few years, and now is becoming a bit of a windbag. I think he should confine himself to pitcher’s viewpoint and not talk about how hitters should hit. Ojeda talks about hitting but only as it is viewed from the mound. Ronnie talks abut batting technique. Gary isn’t going anywhere. But it would be a better booth with two, and I think Ron would be my choice. He would have to do less covering for Keith’s vagaries.

by jdon on Sep 4, 2010 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions