Nationals 3, Mets 2: Hairston's Heroics Not Enough As Nats Take The Game And Series
by James Kannengieser on Jul 31, 2011 4:58 PM EDT
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Scott Hairston tied the game at two with a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning and two outs but Bobby Parnell allowed a game-winning fielder's choice to Ian Desmond in the bottom half of the frame to seal the Mets' fate. Jesus Flores singled to lead off the ninth and Parnell hit Rick Ankiel with the next pitch. After a failed bunt attempt by Brian Bixler and a wild pitch, Desmond ended it with a weak infield grounder over Parnell that went to Willie Harris. Ankiel busted it down the line from third base and beat Harris's throw.
After scoring 38 runs in 5 games this past Monday through Friday, the Mets mustered just 2 runs on Saturday and Sunday combined. Today's nemesis was talented young Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, who struck out six Mets in six innings, allowing no runs while scattering seven singles and walking one. Hairston accounted for both runs, the first on a pinch-hit solo homer off Nats reliever Sean Burnett in the seventh inning, the second on the aforementioned +36.5% WPA bomb in the ninth off Drew Storen. Live your life like Scott Hairston swings the bat and you'll either be homeless or a billionaire.
Jon Niese started for the Mets and looked terrific through five innings. He kept the Nats off the scoreboard, while striking out six, walking none and giving up just four hits. He was also economical with his pitches (69 pitches through 5 innings), and it looked like a special day for the Mets' best pitcher. But things quickly fell apart in the sixth. He allowed three straight doubles to start the inning, to Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman and Mike Morse, which made the score 2-0. After inducing Jayson Werth to groundout, Niese was pulled following a Danny Espinosa single. Ryota Igarashi played mid-innings fireman by striking out the two batters he faced to send the game to the seventh, but the damage was done.
That second Hairston homer sure was fun. It was a fantasy wiffleball scenario ("ninth inning, down a run, two outs, ace reliever on the mound...") and he came through. Very cool. Hairston now has an .894 OPS and probably deserves some more playing time.
The Metsies start a three game series against the Marlins at home on Monday. The first game is at 7:10 PM and the pitching matchup is Javier Vazquez vs. Mike Pelfrey.
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thole is not good at catching balls
And that could have been called strike 3
I don't have the graph but I'm not sure a good umpire would have called it strike 3...
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
by Terry_is_God on Jul 31, 2011 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Frustrating game to say the least
Parnell’s lack of control at times is mindboggling.
Of course, if the Mets offense could have converted even one of the numerous baserunners they had off of Zimmerman, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Sad, sad fact: Jason Bay has a .655 OPS in July…which is over 100 points higher than Pagan’s OPS this month.
One more thought…Nickeas should get some playing time over Paulino, who has turned back into a pumpkin.
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet
Nickeas can't even hit in the minors
I believe his OPS is somewhere in the 500’s, he’s not gonna out hit even a slumping Paulino.
by graves9 on Jul 31, 2011 5:46 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
IDK, might as well see if he could do anything
Plus, you could probably fetch something for Paulino in August
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet
Nickeas can't even hit in the minors
I believe his OPS is somewhere in the 500’s, he’s not gonna out hit even a slumping Paulino.
by graves9 on Jul 31, 2011 5:46 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Keith
__________________________________________________________________
Really good kid.A very good player.Not a superstar. #BlameWilponz. Never Forget
by ScottfromPeekskill on Jul 31, 2011 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions
That bottom of the 9th was a weird inning
CB calling the phantom HBP; the ball deflecting off Parnell’s glove, etc.
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
"Who has more fun than people?"
- Ralph Kiner
parnell is not the future
One day, this team is going to kill me.
by fxcarden on Jul 31, 2011 5:11 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
i think at worst Parnell may be a future piece
of some brilliant Sandy Alderson move
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
by Terry_is_God on Jul 31, 2011 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions
WIth Jason Bay
Squeezed to Song and Bendtner and Song and Nasri oh lovely lovely lovely!
-Peter Drury, the one time his commentating has ever been acceptable.
by Aidan Gibson on Jul 31, 2011 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions
But Bay is
a star
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
by Terry_is_God on Jul 31, 2011 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions
you know what would have been a better lineup option for today?
nick the stick at first, murph at second, and willie harris on a bus somewhere
by cntrlalt on Jul 31, 2011 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
RAmen
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
by Terry_is_God on Jul 31, 2011 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions
alderson and terry have been doing a much better job than last season
but its still pretty unfathomable how this front office can continue giving playing time and ABs to guys who have proven they are utterly useless.
evans might not be the future, but he is useful, and should be given at least as much of a chance as willie freakin harris.
but isnt everyone happy willie harris chose mets over all the other teams wanting him
by jadedeed2327 on Jul 31, 2011 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Other teams wanted him?
What’s wrong with baseball!
Actually, scratch that. Alex Cora is still employed. Lots of things are wrong with baseball.
Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.
by Steve Schreiber on Jul 31, 2011 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions
No.
He’s still beating us.
"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."
by BobbyV_Incognito on Jul 31, 2011 11:32 PM EDT up reply actions
I have two words to describe the past week of games:
Typical Mets
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
But if that's typical Mets
that means we have had a season of unusually good ball, and that’s not bad.
Agreed!
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
by Terry_is_God on Jul 31, 2011 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions
This season's Mets will be watchable the next two months
something they weren’t the last two years
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet
I still think ankiel was not hit by a pitch
And Reyes was safe on his steal!
by the maroon bird on Jul 31, 2011 5:15 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
looked like it just barely nicked his uniform, which apparently counts
didn’t see the Reyes play but i have no doubt you’re correct. umps seem to resent his awesomeness or something.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "
– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf
by Terry_is_God on Jul 31, 2011 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I watched the Reyes play and said he was safe (not that it matters)
Then when the game came back on the nationals announcers (I saw the nats broadcast) called Reyes safe also.
by the maroon bird on Jul 31, 2011 5:25 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He was safe by a mile.
hand was on the bag when Desmond caught the ball
Lame Hagen and Eddie C. didn't think it hit him
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
"Who has more fun than people?"
- Ralph Kiner
Even the Nats broadcasters
Conceded that Ankiel was not hit by the pitch
by MatthewM11 on Jul 31, 2011 11:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Seems like Murph runs the mets out of an inning on a baserunning
mistake every night
Ray ASS objects to that statement!
In lobby for: Jaime Cevallos, Zack Lutz, orange unis and Rickroll as the 7th inning song.
The Unwritten Rules of AA
Wright
I couldn’t see the game and just checked the box score. How long has it been since the team struck out 8 times, and David didn’t strike out at all. There were a number of threads here worrying that he had lost his bat speed? Certainly looked that way to me. Now his contact looks terrific. He had two Ks his first game back, and just 3 his last 9.
I’m not sure how important Ks are, but it was painful to see him swing through fastballs. Now, in almost every way he really looks like the old David. And watching him hit, it’s obvious that he’d have a high babip. 80% of his fair balls, impressionistically, are scorchers.
He never lost his bat speed
Wright screwed around with his positioning in the batters box, and that effected his offense. He’s now standing where he should, and we’re seeing positive results.
__________________________________________________
"He who gets the best players usually wins" - Bobby Bowden
And his back was killing him
Squeezed to Song and Bendtner and Song and Nasri oh lovely lovely lovely!
-Peter Drury, the one time his commentating has ever been acceptable.
by Aidan Gibson on Jul 31, 2011 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I'd like to see him walk more,
but othewise he’s looking like the old David at the plate.
by graves9 on Jul 31, 2011 8:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Wasn't he leading the league in walks
Before he was injured?
by MatthewM11 on Jul 31, 2011 11:59 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Yes
I’m talking about since he came back. He has one walk in 46 plate appearances. Not a big sample size I know, I’m just saying.
He has seemed more aggressive at the plate since coming back
I wonder if that just has to do with the excitement of finally getting back in the lineup. As you mentioned it’s a very small sample size and he has been making more contact which would cut down on walks. I think once his bat cools off a little the patience and walks will return.
Wright has allowed maintained a pretty high BABIP
Correct me if I’m wrong, because I dont have access to fangraphs and am typing this on my phone, but Wright has always maintained a high BABIP, which had allowed him to hit over .300 all those years despite the high Ks. The balls he was putting in play were hard hit.
by MatthewM11 on Jul 31, 2011 11:57 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
His career BABIP is .343
so yeah, he’s tended to maintain high BABIPs. The outlier was 2009 when he hit .307 with a ridiculous .394 BABIP. Naturally, he regressed back to his mean in 2010 (a .335 BABIP) and with the added strikeouts, saw his average plummet to just .283.
His numbers this year are almost exactly the same (.333 BABIP, .280 avg and 22.4 K% compared to 24.0 last year). It seems like since he’s come off the DL he’s making more contact, though. Have to hope that sticks because that’s the difference between 05-08 David Wright and 09-10 David Wright.
Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.
by Steve Schreiber on Aug 1, 2011 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions
I remember at the beginning
of the season, a lot of us here(myself included) were pissed off about Hairston’s play and wanted him off the team. Funny how things change. I think he’s earned the opportunity to platoon in left field.
What's that about?
by Brian. on Jul 31, 2011 5:43 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Yeah I remember hating on him when he started out 1 for 30 or something.
At this point he is better against lefties and righties than Jason Bay
Did anyone else see
The Most Interesting Man in the World right behind the backstop?
My apologies if this was discussing in Gamethread.
Came down to DC for the last two games. Teh sux.
Hairston needs more playing time. Bay needs less. Make it happen.
Eternal Praise Be To Thy One True God R.A. Dickey
So it's your fault they lost.
I'm not even kidding.
Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.
by Steve Schreiber on Jul 31, 2011 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I didn't see the game,
but I followed it on Gameday from the 7th on, and don’t understand why Terry let Thole hit Vs Burnett in the 7th. Thole is a give up at bat vs lefties at this stage of his career. Terry could have hit Paulino for Thole ans had Turner or someone else pinch hit for the pitcher. Hairston after a bad first six weeks of the season has been a beast. He deserves more playing time, and should get some time in both CF ad LF. Anytime you can have a winning road trip it’s good, but losing the series to the Nats and Marlins is frustrating.
by graves9 on Jul 31, 2011 5:56 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Dwight Gooden is doing trivia on his twitter. If you answer his questions first he'll send you an autograph.
"Dont blame me, I was given this world, I didn’t make it."
-Tupac Shakur
Doc is the man
I hate that celebrity rehab show but I have been suffering through it just to Doc. I always loved him and being a recovering addict myself I can empathize with his struggles but I have to say he comes across as really kind, gracious and sincere in that show- not that I am surprised, it’s just nice to see.
by MatthewM11 on Aug 1, 2011 12:03 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Their 10,000th loss.
"Dont blame me, I was given this world, I didn’t make it."
-Tupac Shakur
by NetsMets4Life on Jul 31, 2011 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Think they will paint that in the grass too?
"Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head." - Eli Manning
Daniel Murphy's basepath brain farts
getting very old
Him and Pagan are the worst offenders
"Never throw a slider to The Glider."
- Ed Charles, No. 5
"Who has more fun than people?"
- Ralph Kiner
The difference being the blue collar mistakes happen more often...
because he actually gets on base regularly.
Not going to fault Murphy since he is currently providing more than his share of offense.
__________________________________________________________________
Really good kid.A very good player.Not a superstar. #BlameWilponz. Never Forget
by ScottfromPeekskill on Jul 31, 2011 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions
plus, from his point of view
he saw reyes going…so he must have thought neise was going. it was a split second thing and he thought second base was going to be open. dumb, probably…but i could see how he makes that mistake.
If it was the first time maybe
but it’s happened more than once. You may see the guy start running but you have to keep watching and make sure. All of the mistakes by murph are getting old as they keep happening over and over.
"Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head." - Eli Manning
Murphy has been worth 0.5 baserunning runs this year.
Pagan has been worth 1.1.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.
That kind of makes the stat seem ridiculous
when you think about the egregious mistakes Murph makes on the bases regularly. We’re approaching double digits on his boneheaded baserunning mistakes.
Or it tells us that like in many other areas, we aren't capable arbiters of baserunning aptitude.
From Fangraphs:
Base running linear weights or base running runs, or Ultimate Base Running (UBR), is similar to the outfield arm portion of UZR. Whatever credit (positive or negative) is given to an outfielder based on a runner hold, advance, or kill on a batted ball is also given in reverse to the runner (or runners). There are some plays that a runner is given credit (again plus or minus) for that do not involve an outfielder, such as being safe or out going from first to second on a ground ball to the infield, or advancing, remaining, or being thrown out going from second to third on a ground ball to SS or 3B.
Runs are awarded to base runners in the same way they are rewarded to outfielders on "arm" plays. The average run value in terms of the base/out state is subtracted from the actual run value (also in terms of the resultant base/out state) on a particular play where a base runner is involved. The result of the subtraction is the run value awarded to the base runner on that play.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.
This is one poster to ignore.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
Keep Reyes, Trade Wilpon.
by Ogre39666 on Aug 1, 2011 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I would love to know
how many non-strikes Angel agan has swung at the=is year. The percentage muust be frightening.
according to fangraphs
he’s not swinging any more than last year at balls. in fact, he’s actually walking slightly more and has been more selective than usual.
by robotoverlord on Jul 31, 2011 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Would like Hairston to play at least 3 times a week
Sub him twice for Bay and once for Pagan per week or vice versa, don’t care. Pagan is just killing them, the only thing that has saved him has been his hitting with risp. And it can’t all be explained by poor babip luck. He rolls over grounders to second like he’s Alex Cora and bails out while making contact, so it’s never really hard contact. He may hit some liners, but he also can’t get it over the outfielders heads. Starting to think maybe he’s just a good 4th outfielder, and not a starter.
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