9/8 - What Wright Said...

Posted on 07 Sep 2008 by Danielle

(On Jamie Moyer)

"He's a guy you have to jump on early," Wright said. "Because once he finds some weaknesses, he exploits them."

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Santana and Delgado bring Mets back in Game Two of doubleheader, Mets win 6-3.

Posted on 07 Sep 2008 by Danielle

After a less than stellar 2007 and start to 2008 season, Mets fans everywhere were ready to throw Carlos Delgado to the wolves.

But since June 27th, Carlos Delgado has been the very reason the Mets are holding their contender status for the first time since last August.

The first got off to a rocky start for Johan Santana after both Utley and Werth got on base, with Howard singling in Utley for a 1-0 lead.

But the Mets got back to their good habits, with Church, Wright, and Beltran all scoring in the bottom of the first.

In the third, Ryan Howard smacked his 40th home run of the year on the first pitch he saw from Johan, shortening the lead to just 3-2.

After this, Johan settled in rather nicely... and so did Carlos Delgado.

Carlos hammered a ball over 460 feet to right on an 0-2 count to bring the Mets another insurance run, 4-2.

And yet, he wasn't done. Carlos smashed another one to right, just past the mezzanine, to put the Mets ahead 5-2.

In the top of the eighth, after getting Utley to ground out, Santana gave up a double to Jayson Werth and was pulled from the game to a standing ovation from the Shea Faithful.

Feliciano and Stokes combined to get two outs and end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, thirty-eight year old Damion Easley legged out a stand-up triple and was quickly brought in on a sacrifice fly by Brian Schneider.

In the top of the ninth, things got a little bit difficult for the Mets.

With Luis Ayala pitching, Shane Victorino hit an infield single, but on an errant throw by Schneider, he moved up to second. Then Dobbs flied out to to Beltran and new Philadelphia acquisition Matt Stairs hit an infield single to advance Victorino.

Tracy came in to pinch hit and hit a sac fly to Endy Chavez, who made an outstanding catch against the wall, to score Victorino and make it 6-3.

And with a man on second and two out, Jimmy Rollins stepped up to the plate.

But the New York Mets had the last laugh in a bout of poetic justice, in which Rollins struck out in the Phillies last trip to Shea.

Notable performances came from:

Ryan Church, who was 2-4 with a run scored.

Damion Easley, who went 2-4 with a run scored on a double and a triple this evening.

And of course, Carlos "Esta en fuego" Delgado was 3-4 with a single and two bombs for home runs that drove in four RBI's.

On the pitching front, Johan Santana gave up two earned runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out six in 7.1 innings pitched. He also had an infield hit in today's game.

David Wright struggled today, going 0-3 in tonight's game, reaching base once on catcher's interference and scoring on Beltran's single.

His average dropped to .289.

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In Game 1 of Doubleheader, Moyer dominates as Martinez melts down... Mets lose 6-2.

Posted on 07 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Facing the first-place Mets for the sixth time this season, the 45-year-old Moyer allowed only a surprise bunt single by Robinson Cancel and an infield hit by Damion Easley over seven shutout innings.

New York was scoreless for 16 innings in the series before breaking through for two runs in the eighth against Scott Eyre, but it came too late.

Looking to leave town tied for first place, the Phillies send Cole Hamels to the mound in the 8:05 p.m. nightcap. Johan Santana gets the ball for the Mets in a pressure-packed matchup of left-handed aces.

The Phillies swept a three-game series at Shea Stadium last September, beginning their charge past the collapsing Mets to win the division title. The onus is on Santana, acquired from Minnesota last offseason and signed to a $137.5 million, six-year contract, to prevent another costly sweep for New York.

After Brett Myers won 3-0 on Friday night, Moyer also was on top of his game when Philadelphia needed it.

Using his typical array of floaters and dashing to the mound for warmup pitches even before the Mets lumbered off the field, he beat an ineffective Martinez (5-4) in the makeup of Saturday's rainout.

Philadelphia improved to 7-10 against the Mets this season after winning the final eight matchups last year.

The 36-year-old Martinez lasted only four innings, giving up six runs and seven hits. He felt stiffness during his previous start, a win at Florida, and returned to New York to work out while the Mets completed a 6-2 road trip with a three-game sweep in Milwaukee.

Martinez walked Jayson Werth on four pitches in the second and Dobbs doubled over the head of right fielder Fernando Tatis.

After Matt Stairs' sacrifice fly, Martinez made a key mistake. With first base open and the pitcher on deck, the three-time Cy Young Award winner gave up a two-out RBI single to Carlos Ruiz, who had three hits.

Ryan Howard doubled leading off the fourth and went to third on Werth's single before Dobbs drove an 0-1 pitch to right for his eighth homer. He also had a two-run shot in the series opener and is 9-for-25 with three home runs and eight RBIs against the Mets this year.

Ruiz doubled and scored on Jimmy Rollins' pop-fly double that dropped between shortstop Jose Reyes and left fielder Nick Evans as they struggled to track it in the sun.

Moyer and Martinez both were touched up when they squared off Aug. 26 in Philadelphia, a game the Phillies won 8-7 in 13 innings after rallying from a seven-run deficit.

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(Article) David Wright's New Challenge: Making the Playoffs

Posted on 06 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Standing behind home plate at Shea Stadium, Gabrielle Mileti sobbed.

David Wright of the New York Mets had just stopped where Mileti stood with her husband and 4-year-old son, who is ill with an incurable disease. Wright talked briefly with the family, smiled for photos, then autographed a pair of batting gloves and handed them over.

With a goodbye, Wright moved along to greet more of the fans gathered behind a barrier as the Mets took batting practice before Friday's game with the Philadelphia Phillies.

And the aching emotion of the moment overtook Mileti.

"It's just wonderful that he'd even do this," said Mileti, of New Rochelle, N.Y. "I didn't expect any of that. I'll be a David Wright (fan) the rest of my life."

Hours later, in the quiet of New York's 3-0 loss, Wright reached into his locker to touch a uniform top hanging there.

"Putting on this jersey, especially in this city, you can put smiles on people's faces," Wright said.

Chesapeake's Wright realized that early. One of the first things he did upon becoming the Mets third baseman four years ago was create a charitable foundation.

Wright's eagerness to raise money and give time has him up for baseball's Roberto Clemente Award for public service. (Chesapeake's Michael Cuddyer, of the Minnesota Twins, also is in the running.)

"It's huge," Wright said of his nomination. "Unbelievable."

It is a particular satisfaction of Wright's life off the field. Now, for Wright and his teammates, the need for fulfilling work on the field intensifies again here in September, their cruelest month...

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Mets v. Phillies (Game 2) Postponed

Posted on 06 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Today's game against the Phillies has been postponed due to the imminent storm.

The game will be played tomorrow, as part of a day-night doubleheader, starting at 2:15 p.m.

Tickets for Saturday's game will be honored for tomorrow's afternoon game.

The 2:15 game will feature Martinez v. Moyer and can be viewed on SNY.

The 8:05 game will feature a matchup of Aces, Johan Santana v. Cole Hamels on ESPN.

The only downside is listening to Joe Morgan tomorrow night. Sorry, everyone.

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9/5 - What Wright Said...

Posted on 06 Sep 2008 by Danielle

(On Pelfrey's excellent effort against the Phillies)

"Pelfrey kept us right in the game," David Wright said. "More often than not, if we get seven innings and three runs, we're going to win that game. We just ran into a guy that was a little better."

Credit: Newsday

(On how this series will be different than last September's start of the collapse)

"Last year, I felt like we were beating ourselves quite a bit," David Wright said. "This time, they came out and beat us. There was very little we could do against Brett Myers."

Credit: Star Ledger

(On Mike Schmidt's e-Mail)

"It is what it is," Wright said with a smile. "He's a Phillie. Obviously he's loyal, and biased in his e-mails or whatever. But a starting pitcher that goes out there and throws the ball like Brett Myers did -- that works better than a rallying cry from a former player."

Credit: Star Ledger

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Phils blank Mets, 3-0.

Posted on 06 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Brett Meyers has been unstoppable in his last six games and unfortunately, the Mets couldn’t do much to stop him either.

Shane Victorino helped manufacture a run in the first inning, giving Myers all the offense he needed. The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out 10 in another overwhelming performance.

Greg Dobbs hit a two-run homer off Mike Pelfrey, which narrowly skimmed off of the top of Ryan Church’s glove, and the Phillies took the opener of a crucial series between the top teams in the division. Brad Lidge got through a shaky ninth, retiring Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church with two on to end New York's sixth loss in 23 games.

Wright doubled with one out in the bottom of the ninth and went to third on Carlos Delgado's single. But Beltran flied to shallow left on a 3-1 pitch and Victorino ran down Church's long drive to center.

Lidge remained perfect in 34 save chances this year. He completed Philadelphia's NL-leading 11th shutout this season, while New York was blanked for the fifth time.

David Wright was 1-3 with a double and a walk.

His average remains at .291.

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Pre-game: 9/5

Posted on 05 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Hey, everyone! If you're attending the game tonight, and sitting in the upper deck, please come and say hi! I'll be wearing my light-up hat, per usual, and will be sitting in Row B of section 39.

Yeah, I know it's out there... but I got the seats for free at the Hawaiian Tropics Zone.

Be sure to say hello and let me know what you think of the new site design!

Let's go Mets!
Danielle

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Break out the brooms and the beer! Mets sweep Brew Crew, 8-2.

Posted on 03 Sep 2008 by Danielle

The Mets struck early once again in their victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

In the first inning, Daniel Murphy singled, David Wright singled, and Delgado singled, allowing Murphy to score. 1-0.

Beltran walked on four pitches and the bases were loaded for Ryan Church, who has struggled a little bit since returning from the disabled list.

But this afternoon, he didn't struggle at all... in fact, he slammed the ball. Grandly.

Church's grand slam made it 5-0 and Brian Schneider's solo home run made it 6-0.



Oliver Perez was phenomenal in today's game. He hurled 6.2 innings and gave up two runs on five hits and five walks, while striking out five. His ERA is down to 3.86.

Interestingly enough, the big three of the Mets rotation, Johan, Ollie, and Pelf, are all under 4.00. Who would have thought?

In the bottom of the sixth, he gave up a double to Gabe Kapler and then a double to Corey Hart, but limited the damage after that. It was then 6-1.

In the seventh, he gave up a home run to J.J. Hardy to make it 6-2 and Joe Smith came in to strike out Ryan Braun.

In the eighth, the Mets got those two runs back when both Beltran and Castillo walk, then executed a double steal, and Nick Evans shot a single between third and short into left field.

But the Mets weren't done.

In the ninth, Dan Murphy doubled to center and advanced on a wild pitch. Wright then hit a sac fly to Kapler out in center field to allow Murphy to score and make it 9-2.

With Endy Chavez now playing in left, Scott Schoeneweis stepped in to close out the game. After allowing a hit to the rookie Escobar, in his first big league at bat, Rickie Weeks hit into a double play.

Notable performances came from:

Binghamton Boy No. 1, Daniel Murphy, who never ceases to amaze Mets fans everywhere. He was 2-4 in today's game with two runs scored on a double, single, and walk.

Carlos Beltran was 1-3 as he continues to run red hot, getting a single and two walks today, scoring twice and garnering a stolen base for his 7th career 20-20 season.

Brian Schneider was 2-3 with a home run and a single, not to mention an RBI and a run scored.

Nick Evans in his pinch hit appearance was 1-1 with a single while Beltran and Castillo were on third and second respectively.

Ryan Church smashed a grand slam into the bleachers on his four-RBI performance today.

David Wright was 1-4 today with a run scored and an RBI.

His average is still .291.

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Wright in the News: David Wright Nominated for Roberto Clemente Awards

Posted on 02 Sep 2008 by Danielle

To consider David Wright for baseball's most prestigious individual award might sidle toward redundancy. Most valuable? Perhaps. But Wright has already proven plenty valuable -- if not invaluable -- in a discipline that can't be ranked.

He is, for a laundry list of good reasons, the Mets' nominee for this year's Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. And it is a nomination that Wright does not take lightly.

"It's an incredible honor," Wright said. "Anything that comes along with a man that gave his life doing something for others is just incredible."

The Roberto Clemente Award recognizes the player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, community involvement and contribution to one's team. It is named in honor of the former Pirates outfielder whose spirit and goodwill will always be remembered. Clemente died in a plane crash while attempting to transport relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua in 1972...

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