Luis Castillo's bomb home run yesterday was one of the highlights of the season. He isn't the Mets' MVP, but is nonetheless having a nice year (at the plate at least; in the field is another story).
Meet the Mets
Daniel Murphy walked it off yesterday, but the real story was David Wright's placement on the 15-day disabled list. Hopefully he is moved to the 60-day DL. David is out of the hospital and resting at home. Ryan Church advised Wright to take his time coming back.
Alex Nelson at Mets Geek looks at the Mets 2009 draft picks on this signing deadline day. 17 of their 49 picks have yet to sign, including top pick Steven Matz.
Toby Hyde at the Mets Minor League Blog updates us on Ruben Tejada and Josh Thole's seasons, as well as their chances of being called up this September.
Metsblog reports that Billy Wagner should return sometime this week.
Centerfield Maz's Former Met of the Day is Rick Reed, a personal favorite.
As of now, there are no plans to retire Mike Piazza's #31.
Mets Police provides visual evidence of a statue outside Citi Field. Unfortunately it's not quite a Tom Seaver statue.
Bobby Valentine is looking for work, but don't expect him to be employed by the Mets as long as Omar and Jerry are around.
How could I resist this one - the Atlanta-Journal Constitution did a Q&A with Jeff Francoeur. My favorite exchange:
Q: Do you think the Mets want you to be any different?
A: No, they’re not there for my on-base percentage. It was great to hear [manager] Jerry Manuel in a team meeting say, "I don’t care about average. I care about scoring runs, driving in runs and preventing runs." That’s the type of guy I am.
No comment.
Around the NL East
The Phillies knocked off the Braves last night, 4-1. Ryan Howard drove in all 4 runs, hitting 2 homers. Brad Lidge earned a 1-out save, which I suppose was some way of trying to get his confidence back. He's been dreadful this year.
The Marlins split a doubleheader with the Rockies and are 4.5 games back of the Phillies.
Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals as they beat the Reds 5-4, but the real story in Nats-land is the signability of wunderkind Stephen Strasburg.
Could Billy Wagner help the Phillies down the stretch?
Brett Myers claims his injury isn't related to a bar room brawl. Sure Brett, just keep changing your story.
The Cubs fan who showered Dick Torino with beer has apologized.
The Washington Post profiled the Nationals' wives and girlfriends.
Around MLB
Randy Wolf struck out 10 and hit a home run in a 9-3 Dodger victory against the Diamondbacks.
Carlos Zambrano admitted to being lazy.
It's pretty obvious that Joe Mauer has been far more valuable this season than Mark Teixeira. I don't understand why some think the performance of the 24 other players on a baseball roster should impact an individual award.
Congratulations to Derek Jeter for becoming the all-time hit leader among shortstops. He's having a fantastic season, and despite his "outtakes", is an awesome player and first-ballot Hall of Famer.