Baseball Info: Juni 2012

Sabtu, 30 Juni 2012

Final Score: Mets 9 Dodgers 0

The New York Mets (42-36) defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers (43-35) by the score of 9-0 tonight at Dodger Stadium.

The Least You Should Know:

R.A. Dickey pitched eight shut out innings, giving up three hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts in his 12th win of the season.

Daniel Murphy went 2-for-5 with five RBIs, three of which came on a three-run bomb in the seventh inning. It was his third home run in three games.

Ruben Tejada went 4-for-5 with one RBI.

Lucas Duda broke an 0-for-15 streak with his two hits in tonight's game. He also tallied his 43rd RBI of the season.

The Mets scored three two-out runs in the fifth inning.

Five different Mets posted at least one RBI during the win.

Jeremy Hefner pitched one inning of relief to complete the shut out.

For a complete box score and game recap, check out SNY In-Game Live.

Meredith Perri: I love watching R.A. Dickey pitch. I have confidence every time he takes the mound that I will get to see a stellar baseball game and that the Mets will have a solid chance at getting the win. Tonight was no exception. Dickey dominated the Dodgers' lineup, and, for the fifth time this year, had double-digit strike outs.

Up until the seventh inning, it really looked like Dickey should have had a no-hitter. Andres Torres probably heaved a sigh of relief after A.J. Ellis' hit in the seventh, because otherwise Torres would have been at fault for Dickey not accomplishing his first no-hitter. Torres should have caught opposing pitcher Aaron Harang's fly-ball single in the third inning ' no questions asked.

On the offensive end of the spectrum, the Mets gave R.A. plenty of wiggle room. Tejada, Duda, Thole and Murphy all had multi-hit games, with Tejada going 4-for-5 and Murphy tying a career high with five RBI.

After the first two games of this series, it certainly looks as though the Mets have straightened out whatever issues they were having earlier in the week.

W.B. Mason Post Game Extra:

The Mets will continue their four-game series with the Dodgers tonight at 7:15 PM when Johan Santana (5-4, 3.00 ERA) faces off against Nathan Eovaldi (0-4, 4.04 ERA).

Jumat, 29 Juni 2012

Terry on Thursday night's win over the Dodgers

Bobby Parnell, who recorded his first save of the season:

'I thought it was a great outing for him. Obviously, his stuff was electric tonight'It was a huge step forward. It was a good game for him. It was a good win for us'I bet if you talked to Bobby Parnell, he's gonna tell you I'm out here to win this job. That's the best attitude to have. I think that's the way he approached it tonight'I think location is what's going to make him a great pitcher.'

Young and Capuano, his thoughts on the level of where both pitchers are at since spring training of last year:

'I thought Sandy did a tremendous job of bringing those guys into camp. We needed starting pitching. They both pitched great. Having them face off tonight, you certainly tip your hat to both guys. What they've gone through and the adversity they've had to face. 'Cappy' was here. You want to beat him because that's our job, but when we're not playing them, you root really hard for a guy like that.'

Today's Backpages: Yankee melt down, Mets in corner

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Kamis, 28 Juni 2012

Today's Backpages: Yankees pain, Mets in corner

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Rabu, 27 Juni 2012

Terry on the Mets poor defense and Ike's ejection

Ike Davis, who was 1-for-4 and ejected in the eighth inning:

'Ike touched him with the glove. He was automatically ejected. I'm not going to get into it. They're not responsible for leaving 10 guys on base. It's not the umpire's fault that we didn't hit with stinkin' guys sitting all over the bases tonight' They'll study the replay and know it was accidental, but you just can't do that.'

The reason for sloppy defense:

'I haven't the faintest idea. I don't know if it's fatigue. I don't know what it is. We didn't run the bases. We didn't play good defense. We didn't drive in the runs we needed to drive in. It was a combination of a lot of things. We didn't pitch very good. It was the worst Dillon's pitched probably in awhile' We've played two bad baseball games here. We are a better team than what we've played.'

Selasa, 26 Juni 2012

Quote: David Wright on emotions after Subway Series

~ David Wright, after last night's loss to the Cubs

Senin, 25 Juni 2012

Weekend Review, What's Next & NL East Standings

The Mets won Friday, lost Saturday and lost Sunday, which you can read about here, here and here, dropping five of six to the Yankees this year

The Mets begin a three-game series against the Cubs in Chicago tonight, with Johan Santana (5-3, 3.00 ERA) taking on LHP Travis Wood (1-3, 4.14 ERA) at 8:05 pm ET.

Matthew Cerrone: It was an underwhelming weekend. However, despite losing two of three to the Yankees, the facts are this: On June 25, with nearly half of the year behind us, the Mets are in second place, 3.5 games out of first and on pace to win 87 games. That's a pretty good position to be in as they embark on a six-game road trip through Chicago and Los Angeles. I don't think most fans, experts or media figured the Mets to be where they are on this date, myself included. But, I'm thrilled they are. And, though it burns to lose a series to the Yankees'. so be it. There are bigger fish to fry, like getting back on track and pushing to win the NL East, which is totally up for grabs right now'

This past weekend, in case you missed it, Frank Francisco was put on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. The team also demoted rookies Elvin Ramirez and Jordany Valdespin, while activating infielders Ronny Cedeno and Ruben Tejada and reliever Ramon Ramirez.

Terry Collins told reporters that Bobby Parnell will be his closer in Francisco's absence.

Also, Ike Davis missed Saturday and Sunday with food poisoning, though Collins said before yesterday's game that Ike was already at '75 percent.'

Jason Bay talked to reporters on Saturday and said he feels much better, and he is symptom free from his concussion last week, though he still has no timetable for his return.

Lastly, in response to Frank Francisco's quote in the New York Post about the Yankees being 'chickens,' Tim Byrdak brought a live chicken into the clubhouse to be the team's mascot, which he named Little Jerry Seinfeld. Yesterday, Byrdak gave the chicken to the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York.

Today's Backpages: Yankees, Yankees, Yankees (Ugh!)

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Mets add 2nd lefty reliever, promote Hampson, DFA Rottino

Vinny Rottino has been designated for assignment to make room on the 25-man roster for LHP Justin Hampson, who was promoted from Triple-A to be a second left-handed reliever.

This season in Triple-A, Hampson, 32, was 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA in 28 appearances, during which left-handed hitters are batting .213 against him.

He pitched for the Rockeis and Padres from 2006 to 2008, going 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 79 appearances.

Matthew Cerrone: This will be viewed as a knee-jerk reaction to last night, when Terry Collins did not use Tim Byrdak to pitch to Robinson Cano, who hit a go-ahead home against Miguel Batista, who Collins left in the game for a second inning. But, the Mets have needed a second left-handed reliever pretty much since Opening Day. They tried Robert Carson and they've talked about Josh Edgin, but both have struggled lately in Triple-A. I know very little about Hampson, but if he can help give Terry options, I'll take it.

The other aspect to this is that by cutting Rottino, the Mets have just one right-handed bat on the bench, which will make things more interesting than they already are on days when Hairston starts for Lucas Duda or Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

Minggu, 24 Juni 2012

The Mets were playing with five relievers last night

In the seventh inning of last night's 4-3 loss to the Yankees, Chris Young allowed a leadoff walk to Mark Teixeira, a double to Nick Swisher, and was left to face Raul Ibanez, a left-handed hitter.

Ibanez hit a game-tying, three-run home run off of Young.

After the game, Terry Collins revealed Frank Francisco had suffered an injury and was unavailable, leaving Collins with five relievers in the bullpen.

'We didn't have Frankie tonight,' Collins said. 'Frankie injured himself pre-game doing some exercises, so our bullpen was a little thin tonight.'

Collins said he did not consider bringing Tim Byrdak in to face Ibanez in the seventh inning.

'I wanted Byrdak to face who he faced, especially when we didn't have Frankie,' Collins said. 'You burn three pitchers in one inning, and all of a sudden you're in deep trouble.'

Jon Rauch relieved Young, and he allowed a go-ahead, opposite field home run to the left-handed Eric Chavez.

Michael Baron: The Mets were essentially playing with five relievers last night, one of which was left-handed, thus putting them in a precarious position late in that game. I understand Collins' desire to save Byrdak for someone like Robinson Cano or Mark Teixeira in another spot, but this was a situation where another left-handed reliever would have given Collins much more flexibility against Ibanez in that situation, regardless of whether or not Francisco was available.

When the Mets replaced Elvin Ramirez with Ronny Cedeno on Friday, my concern was the Mets were handicapped with only six relievers available in an already inconsistent bullpen. As was the case last night, an injury or fatigue to one of the guys limits Collins' ability to maneuver in any situation, especially against the dynamic Yankee lineup. Yes, their 40-man roster flexibility impacted the decision. But it seems as though for one reason or another, Collins is always left in this kind of situation with the bullpen ' someone is injured, someone is fatigued, and he is playing short late in the game and can't afford to bring Byrdak into a situation for risk he won't have him later. And so, he is left with an unfavorable match-up, and he gets burned time and time again like this.

Sunday's back pages in New York City

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Sabtu, 23 Juni 2012

Jason Bay is improving, still undergoing tests

According Mike Puma of the New York Post, while Jason Bay is still being evaluated closely by doctors, many of his concussion symptoms have subsided.

Bay was placed on the seven-day disabled list on June 16 after sustaining a concussion in the second inning of last Friday's game against the Reds. He was at Citi Field last night for the first time since sustaining his concussion last Friday.

Jumat, 22 Juni 2012

Mets will wait before entering trade market

Mets, like a lot of teams, are going to wait a few more weeks before digging into trade market stuff. Waiting for more info to develop.

' Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 21, 2012

The Mets are afraid, and other suggested links to read

According to the Daily News, 'Before becoming the toast of the town, R.A. Dickey had rift with SNY analyst Bobby Ojeda,' Bob Raissman explains.

In the Daily News, John Harper looks in to what impact Citi Field's lack of home runs could have on the Yankees this weekend against the Mets.

To get a preview of this weekend's series, check out Erik Boland's report for Newsday.

Lastly, in the New York Post, Frank Francisco says on facing the Yankees this weekend, 'I can't wait to face those chickens. ' I want to strike out the side against them. I've done it before.'

Matthew Cerrone: In his lead, the Post's Mike Puma writes, 'At least somebody isn't afraid to talk trash about a cross-town rival.' Now, what the hell is that even supposed to mean? So, the reason there is so little trash talking from the Mets to the Yankees is 'fear,' because they're afraid? Really?!? I just assumed it's because they're professional baseball players, who see no one game more important than the other, and who probably realize the bigger rivalry is with the Phillies, Nationals, Marlins and Braves. However, according to the Post, it's because the Mets are 'scared.'

Kamis, 21 Juni 2012

Final Score: Mets 4 Orioles 3

The Mets (38-32) completed a three-game sweep of the Orioles (39-30) by the score of 4-3 in Citi Field tonight.

For a full recap and box score, check out SNY.TV.

Matthew Cerrone: In the long line of Mets closers before him, Frank Francisco just can't make life easy for us, can he? Yikes. I mean, with the bases loaded, he tossed a four-pitch walk to bring home a run. Brutal. But, somehow, he managed to get it done, despite Terry Collins pacing and staring down Dan Warthen's bullpen phone. It's pretty clear, I think, that if the Mets are going to make a serious run through September, they're going to need new blood for these type of situations. In the meantime, it's 'Frank Frank,' and I'm glad Collins stuck with him because ' if that acquisition is never made ' the Mets will need him to be confident.

That said, man, oh, man, the rotation has been sensational of late. Gee looked fantastic most of the game, he simply ran out of gas (and quick) in his final inning. However, up until that point, he did a terrific job using his fastball moving around all sides of the plate. He committed to a game plan, stuck with it and he lulled them in to a funk.

To hear from Terry Collins and Dillon Gee, watch W.B. Mason's Post Game Extra for SNY.TV:

Terry on Wednesday night's win and playing the Yankees

The importance of the three, four and five guys in the rotation:

'Everybody's got to chip in. Dillon pitched a great game. Jon's got a big task Friday night. He pitched good the last time he faced the Yankees. If he goes out and pitches his game, I think we are going to have a good outing. I like our rotation a lot. If they keep getting as deep into games, we've got to get some runs to work with. I think we're going to be in good shape.'

Facing the Yankees this weekend:

'It's a challenge. Last weekend when we were there, we let one get away for sure. They're playing great. Our ballpark plays a little different then theirs'Our guys are going to have to step up and Sunday night should be a real interesting match-up.'

Citi Field playing to the Mets advantage this weekend:

'Yankee Stadium is a great place for their team and for the fans. There's a lot of home runs hit. They can hit them out of here too. It's just not quite as easy as it is over there.'

Standings, Beat Reports & What's Next

The Mets, Braves, Phillies and Nationals won last night, while the Marlins lost.

To read more about last night's sweep, check out this post on MetsBlog, as well as beat reports from MLB.com, the Wall Street Journal, Star-Ledger, Bergen Record, Journal News, ESPN New York, Newsday, the Daily News and New York Post.

Also last night, Ruben Tejada was 0-for-4 and played a full game at shortstop during a rehab game with Single-A St. Lucie.

Ronny Cedeño played second base and went 1-for-4 in a rehab game with Triple-A Buffalo. Terry Collins said yesterday he expects Cedeno to be activated tomorrow.

The Mets are off today. Tomorrow night at 7:10 pm, they begin a weekend series with the Yankees at Citi Field with Jon Niese (4-3, 3.82 ERA) taking on Andy Pettitte (3-2, 2.77 ERA).

Rabu, 20 Juni 2012

Terry's comments after Tuesday night's win

Johan Santana, who allowed four hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings:

'He had much better stuff today. Life to his fastball. Breaking ball had much better depth to it. His change up has always been a good pitch, but much better command.'

Jordany Valdespin, who went two for four, and his growth in situational hitting:

'Jordany Valdespin is a very talented man. He's growing on the job, he's learning on the job, he's maturing up here. He's handled himself very well up here so far. He's listening. Fortunately, we've got the likes of Miguel Batista and Frankie Francisco that can really help him.'

Santana and Dickey, what they are doing for the rotation:

'It's really big for the rotation, but for us to succeed and for us to have a big summer, we've got to get Gee and Niese going. Chris Young is one of those guys who goes out there and he's just going to keep you in the game. Those other guys are big parts of this whole team'We've got to get those two guys going because we are going to need them all. We are going to need all five of these guys.'

Today's Backpages around New York: Johan & Lebron

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Selasa, 19 Juni 2012

Today's New York Backpages

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Terry's comments on R.A. Dickey and Ike Davis

R.A. Dickey's pitching this season and the one hit against him tonight:

This guy just is amazing with that pitch, just amazing. Pitch selection's pretty easy. It's about command and how he commands it is unbelievable. Do I have a chance to appeal that base hit? Did anybody dive for that ball? I had a bad view.

Dickey's success after all it took for him to get to this point:

That's why everybody roots for him. That's why everybody's in his corner' All the things he had to deal with to get here. You go back two years ago, this guy didn't make the club out of spring training ' the first guy cut. And all he's done is gotten better and better and better. I've never seen anything like it.

R.A. Dickey giving up hits:

I tell you, you have to talk to some of those guys that have to face him. They've got to tell you what it's like to face him. We know our guys are really glad they don't have to right now.

Ike Davis' grand slam:

He brings something to the table. I've talked to two managers in the last two series and they've asked about Ike. One of the things they brought up is that he still scares us to death when he comes up to the plate. And they know he's hitting .165 and that's what he brings. When he gets it going, he's dangerous. Right now, he's getting it going.

Standings, What's Next and Thoughts on Dickey

The Mets won last night, while the Braves lost. The Marlins, Phillies and Nationals were off.

To read more about last night's win, and R.A. Dickey's outstanding performance, check out this post on MetsBlog, as well as beat reports from MLB.com, the Wall Street Journal, Star-Ledger, Bergen Record, Journal News, ESPN New York, Newsday, the Daily News and New York Post.

It's worth noting, Dickey has not allowed an earned run in his last 42.2 innings, the second longest streak in Mets history'

Matthew Cerrone: In the words of Casey Stengel, 'Amazin. Amazin. Amazin.' My brother-in-law, who is a Yankees fan, attended last night's game and ' just like you and I ' even he loved every second of watching Dickey's performance. I mean, how could anyone not have fun? And that's the thing, Dickey is becoming an attraction, not just for Mets fans, but for all baseball fans. In addition to the standard crew of Mets fans, Twitter erupted after the game with comments from beat reporters and fans of other teams, all of whom were watching Dickey do what Dickey does. He is must-see TV in MLB right and thee story in baseball, a) because he's incredibly unique in his craft, but also because b) he's a good and fascinating person, calm, articulate and captivating on and off the mound.

I already can't wait for Sunday, when ' on National television ' the league's hottest pitcher, Dickey, will face the Yankees (the league's hottest team, who have won 10 in row, with their ace (CC Sabathia) on the mound). It should be quite a show'

The Mets continue their three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles tonight with Johan Santana (4-3, 3.23 ERA) taking on Tommy Hunter (3-3, 5.58 ERA) at 7:10 pm.

Senin, 18 Juni 2012

Standings, Weekend Review & What's Next for the #Mets

The Mets got swept by the Reds this weekend at Citi Field, which you can read more about here (Friday), here (Saturday) and here (Sunday).

In case you missed it, Jason Bay was placed on the seven-day disabled list after sustaining a concussion crashing in to the left-field wall during Friday night's game.

Justin Turner was activated from the disabled list, replacing Bay on the 25-man roster.

Matthew Cerrone: I'm still in disbelief over Bay. It happened, and I just sat silent, shaking my head. I couldn't believe what I was watching' again. Yes, it was disgusting that some fans booed him as he walked off the field. The thing is, and this is no excuse, but I suspect they were booing the totality of his time with the Mets, not him leaving the game because of that specific injury. They were booing his .246 career average, the $30 million he's been paid, the $20 million he's yet to get, the lack of production and the cornucopia of injuries he's suffered and all the time he's missed. Again, no excuse, especially since he's done nothing but give maximum effort and try to turn things around for him and this franchise ' I mean, even on that final play, he banged his head, yet still got up to throw a strike to the cut-off man before falling flat on his back ' but I think what was spewing from those fans mouths was two and half years of frustration, which was exemplified by Bay walking off the field' again. It was a terrible, embarrassing, emotionally honest moment for everyone involved, I think.

As for Bay, I hope he gets well. I fear this could be the end of his career, given his production, previous concussion and the time he could be away in recovery. I would love nothing more than to see him return and redeem himself, but seeing what has happened to others in a similar situation, it's hard to imagine. Be well, Jason'

Also this weekend, Terry Collins said Ruben Tejada will likely begin a rehabilitation assignment today with Triple-A Buffalo, where Ronny Cedeno played all weekend, getting two hits in 11 at bats. Collins said Saturday that Cedeno could rejoin the Mets by midweek.

Lastly, the Mets will open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles tonight at 7 pm in Citi Field, with R.A. Dickey (10-1, 2.20 ERA) taking on Jake Arrieta (3-8, 5.89 ERA).

Morning Links on Johan, Bay, Dickey, Nimmo & Beltran

In Newsday, Stephen Haynes has quotes from Tom Seaver about Johan Santana's no-hitter.

In the Star-Ledger, Mike Vorkunov talks with Terry Collins, David Wright and Josh Thole about Jason Bay's second concussion in two years.

Steve Serby talked to RA Dickey in his Sunday Q&A for the New York Post, during which Dickey says he still feels be can be better than he has this season.

According to Mike Vaccarro in the New York Post, Carlos Beltran deserved to be names the team's best center fielder ever during last night's Mets All-Time Team announcement by SNY at the 92Y in Manhattan.

In the Daily News, David Sanchirico takes a closer look at Mets OF prospect Brandon Nimmo, who will begin his 2012 season tonight with the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Matthew Cerrone: I'm really excited about Nimmo. He's super young, and a ways away, but he has such a good base to build from: He's fast, tall, quiet in the box, he's patient and smart, and he has a terrific attitude. He's 18 and talks to reporters like a season veteran, ready to concur New York City, despite not having a high school to play on when growing up in Oklahoma. It all reads like some sort of myth, and yet it's true, which makes him all the more intriguing. I look forward to seeing how he progresses over the next year or two'

Minggu, 17 Juni 2012

Kiners Corner > David Wright: Man with a mission

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Performance Review: Niese's one bad pitch, and his execution

In last night's 4-1 loss to the Reds, Jon Niese allowed four runs in seven innings, three of which came on a three-run home run hit by Jay Bruce in the first inning.

It was the first home run Niese has allowed to a left-handed hitter all season.

'I don't regret throwing the pitch,' Niese said after the game. 'I regret hanging it on the inside part of the plate. Hindsight is 20-20. I probably should have thrown a fastball up and in and been done with it. Maybe he would have swung through it. Maybe not. That's baseball. It's one pitch. One mistake can cost you the game. And it did.'

Niese fell to 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA in 13 starts this season.

Here is a map showing Niese's release point on all of his pitches, courtesy of BrooksBaseball.net:

Michael Baron: I agree with Niese. It wasn't necessarily the pitch selection to Bruce which hurt him ' it was the execution, and how he chose to execute that pitch. I said yesterday Niese shouldn't be afraid to use that curveball against left-handed hitters so to offset his cutter and fastball and change their eye level at the plate. He used a sidearm delivery on the pitch and, because of the lower arm angle, the pitch has tendency to come in softer and flatter across the strike zone rather than going down through the strike zone. As it is depicted in the map above, the pitch he threw to Votto was the lowest release point of any of his pitches, and he almost threw that curve with an uphill trajectory ' it basically floated right down the middle and Votto crushed it. What's worse is that it came with two outs and two strikes and Bruce was feeding right into Niese's strengths earlier in that sequence.

Niese wasn't terrible after the first inning and he gave the Mets plenty of chances to get back into the game. Still, a better decision on how he executes that curveball might have given this game a better look, feel and energy for the Mets. This is part of the maturation Niese needs to get through in order to take that next step in his career. He has shown time and time again he has the talent and the stuff to be a top-of-the-rotation starter ' it's a matter of taking experiences like this, growing from them, and becoming more consistent with his approach from pitch-to-pitch and start-to-start.

Sabtu, 16 Juni 2012

Saturday's back pages in New York City

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Jumat, 15 Juni 2012

Final Score: Mets 9 Rays 6

The New York Mets (35-29) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (35-28) by the score of 9-6 today in Tampa.

The Least You Should Know:

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had the first multi-homerun game of his career, hitting a solo shot to leadoff the first inning and a two-run home run in the fourth inning.

Jon Rauch retired all three batters he faced after coming into the sixth inning with the bases loaded and none out.

Johan Santana gave up four earned runs, four walks and six hits in 5+ innings of work.

The Rays loaded the bases to bring the winning run up to the plate in the ninth inning.

The Mets swept an American League opponent for just the third time since the start of interleague play.

To get a full boxscore of tonight's game, check out SNY.TV's In-Game Live.

Meredith Perri: I'll admit it. After the series with the Yankees, I was worried. I was desperately hoping that the Mets would bounce back in this series and take two out of three from the Rays. I don't think anyone could have anticipated the offensive shellacking this team would place on Tampa.

I still have my doubts about a few players at the plate ' Daniel Murphy in particular. Nonetheless, I have a good amount of confidence that the Mets can score runs when needed, especially when there are two outs in the inning. Think about it. When Nieuwenhuis got up to bat in the fourth inning, Quintanilla was on first, there were two out and the score was tied. By the time Murphy ended the inning five batters later, the Mets were up by four runs. That's impressive.

I won't deny the fact that Santana was not at his best today. That second inning was particularly rough to watch and he gave up the lead twice. Santana may not have gotten a lot of run support early in the season, but today he can thank his offense for the win.

W.B. Mason Post Game Extra:

Kamis, 14 Juni 2012

Thursday's Mets/Rays lineups in St. Petersburg (1:10 PM)

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R.A. Dickey continues to dominate MLB

Last night, RA Dickey pitched a complete game and allowed just one unearned run on one hit with a career-high 12 strikeouts to earn his Major League leading 10th win this season.

Dickey set the franchise mark of 32 2/3 scoreless innings before the Rays touched him for an unearned run in the ninth inning. He improved his ERA to 2.20, which is now third best in the National League.

'I felt good, and I felt like I was in the moment with every pitch,' Dickey told reporters after the game. 'I try to think of the results much more in a micro-managing type way, pitch to pitch. I was able to be in the moment with that pretty well tonight, and really repeat my mechanics, keep the ball in the strike zone, make them have to respect it over and over and over again and try to work as quickly as possible. I was able to do all those things tonight, and it makes for a fun night. I really enjoyed my craft tonight.'

Last night was Dickey's second career one-hitter. He faced just two over the minimum, and retired 22 batters in a row before David Wright committed an error.

Wright also misplayed a ball in the first inning off the bat of B.J. Upton, which was was ruled a hit. It was the only hit Dickey allowed during his outing.

'I tried to make the play and I didn't make it [in the first inning],' Wright said after the game. 'I don't think I could have gotten him with the glove and I tried to bare-hand. It hit the lip and skipped on me and I didn't make the play. If they want to go back and give me an error they can do that.'

Terry Collins said the Mets will appeal the scoring on Upton's hit in an attempt to have it reversed, which would award Dickey a no-hitter.

Dickey became the third Mets pitcher to allow only one hit while striking out 12 ' the other two to accomplish the feat are Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver. Dickey is also the second Met pitcher to be the first to record ten wins in a season ' Tom Glavine did so in 2006.

Over his last six starts he has walked four batters and struck out 58 with an ERA of 0.79.

Michael Baron: He has been stunningly good this season, and hands down the best pitcher in baseball so far in 2012. In retrospect, Dickey has had one bad start ' on April 15 in Atlanta ' and if that's erased, he is 10-0 with a 1.47 ERA.

As good as Dickey had been in his first two years with the Mets, he is a completely different pitcher right now and doing things few knuckleballers have been able to do, which is command the entire strike zone with the pitch. He has the ability to move the ball in and out of the zone horizontally, in and out of the zone vertically, and completely befuddle the opposition by varying the speed from the middle 50s to around 80 mph. He did that again last night and was flat out dominant.

Lastly, in all fairness to the one-hitter, if Wright had to make the play bare-handed, it's hard to argue it shouldn't be ruled a hit, even if he squared up on the ball and was standing. Besides, to award him a no-hitter after the game would not be nearly as cool as a traditional no-hitter would be. I don't think it takes away from the sheer brilliance of Dickey's outing or his season to date.

Quote: Carlos Pena on RA Dickey's repetoire

~Rays 1B Carlos Pena, on RA Dickey, quoted by Newsday

Rabu, 13 Juni 2012

Today's BackPages from around New York

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Morning Links for Wednesday, June 13

The way the Mets rebounded last night from those excruciating losses in the Subway Series was impressive, Hal Bodley says on MLB.com.

According to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger, pitch sequencing is to blame for Jon Rauch's most recent skid.

R.A. Dickey has proved himself to be a stopper this season, David Lennon writes in Newsday.

In the Daily News, Jon Harpers says Ike Davis showed signs of coming out of his season-long slump with a three-run homer last night.

Vinny Cartiglia: It's amazing. Coming into the season fans had All-Star expectations for Ike. We were pumped up imagining what a full season of production could bring. Here we are on June 13 and conversations surrounding the Mets firstbaseman all start with the question, 'Should the Mets send Ike to Buffalo?' While the question has caused some heated debates amongst Mets fans, the one thing we all agree on is wanting to see the 2011 version of Ike. Though I will temper my excitement, man, I hope Harper is right!

Selasa, 12 Juni 2012

Standings & What's on Tap for Today

The Mets and Phillies were off yesterday. The Nationals and Marlins won, while the Braves lost.

The Mets begin a three-game series with the Rays in Tampa tonight, with Chris Young (0-0, 3.60 ERA) facing Alex Cobb (2-2, 4.13 ERA) at 7:10 pm ET.

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Senin, 11 Juni 2012

Final Score: Yankees 5 Mets 4

The New York Mets (32-29) were defeated by the New York Yankees (34-25) today by a score of 5-4.

For a complete box score and game recap, check out SNY's In-Game Live.

Brian Erni: Niese thrived under pressure today. The Yankees put the lead off man on in five of the seven innings Niese threw, but each time, he rose to the occasion. Niese induced pivotal double play grounders in the third, sixth and seventh to elude trouble. Had he gotten through the seventh cleanly, it would have totaled 13 straight shut out innings over his last two starts.

With two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh, the whole tenor of the game changed. Niese got Andruw Jones to ground to Wright, who fielded the ball cleanly, but fired low and in the dirt to first base. Vinny Rottino couldn't bail him out with a scoop, and the inning was prolonged. Three pitches later, Martin hit a line drive that wouldn't have gotten out of most travel league fields, no less Major League ballparks. But of course, it skimmed the top of the wall that makes up the joke of a short porch at Yankee Stadium and hopped over the fence to bring the Yanks within a run.

Parnell pitched in tough luck again. Derek Jeter led off the eighth with a slow roller Omar Quintanilla tried to make a tough play on, and it stayed down under his glove and rolled into center. That allowed Jeter, who was hustling down the line, to make an aggressive play and reach second. Curtis Granderson followed with a single, then Mark Teixeira snuck a ground ball through the infield to tie the game. Alex Rodriguez followed with a meek pop up to right that dunked in between Valdespin, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Ike Davis (both whom were in the game for their defense).

Even though it was for naught, it was good to see Ike contribute in a big spot. Lucas Duda ripped a double over Granderson's head that he got turned around on a bit, then Davis followed with a booming double up the gap to tie the game. The Mets had a chance to get more, but Josh Thole struck out looking and Nieuwenhuis grounded out to second to leave runners stranded at the corners.

Obviously, a tough weekend, which comes with the extra sting of having to hear about it from your Yankees fan friends tomorrow morning. It won't get any easier, as the Mets will face the American League's best pitching staff in their next series.

W.B. Mason Post Game Extra:

Jenrry Mejia heading to Bisons' bullpen

According to Ben Wagner of MiLB.com, Jenrry Mejia will be removed from the Bisons' rotation, take four days off, and begin working out of their bullpen.

In three starts with Triple-A Buffalo, Mejia is 0-1 with a 1.13 ERA and seven strikeouts in 16 innings.

Last month, Sandy Alderson said Mejia might be able to help the Major League bullpen at some point this season.

Mejia underwent Tommy John Surgery on his right elbow last May.

Standings, this past weekend, and what's on tap for today

The Yankees swept this Mets this weekend, pushing the Mets to just three games over .500 and six losses behind the Nationals in the NL East.

The Mets are off today. They begin a three-game series with the Rays in Tampa tomorrow night, with Chris Young (0-0, 3.60 ERA) facing A. Cobb (2-2, 4.13 ERA) at 7:10 pm ET.

To read more about this weekend's losses, check there posts on MetsBlog (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), as well as beat reports from MLB.com, the Wall Street Journal, Star-Ledger, Bergen Record, Journal News, ESPN New York, Newsday, the Daily News and New York Post.

Also this past weekend, MiLB.com reported that Jenrry Mejia will soon begin pitching in relief for Triple-A Buffalo, most likely in advance of a promotion to the Mets, who have a league-worst 5.59 bullpen ERA.

In regards to injuries, Terry Collins told reporters Saturday that Ronny Cedeno ran bases in his rehab and will begin to increase his workload this week. Also, he said Ruben Tejada will head back to Port St. Lucie where he will rest for a few days after aggravating his right quad injury late last week.

In a chat with online fans Saturday, Sandy Alderson said he will keep an eye on the trade market to find ways to improve the Mets. 'If we are in the race, as I expect we will be, I don't believe money will be an issue for us,' said Alderson, who also added that he will do everything he can this off-season to keep David Wright here long term.

Minggu, 10 Juni 2012

New York City back pages for June 10

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Performance Review: Gee was solid, but made one bad pitch

In yesterday's 4-2 loss to the Yankees, Dillon Gee allowed three runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts, but took his fourth loss of the season.

Gee's three walks all led off innings, one of which scored on a Mark Teixeira two-run home run in the sixth inning.

'I was having trouble staying warm between innings,' Gee said after the game. 'I couldn't get loose in every inning. I feel good, I'm not injured but I just couldn't get warm. It happens every now and then.'

Gee fell to 4-4 but improved his ERA to 4.42 for the season.

'I thought I battled out there today,' Gee said. 'I didn't feel very good. Obviously I thought I scrapped through seven innings.'

Over his last four starts, Gee has pitched to a 2.88 ERA.

Michael Baron: Gee had a very fine outing last night, but when the margin for error is as thin as it's been recently, it's hard to play with fire like Gee did. Four of the first six lead-off men reached base, three via the walk. He got out of two of those jams by inducing two double play balls thanks to very good command of his tailing fastball, slider and change-up. But in the sixth inning, Gee issued a lead-off walk to Curtis Granderson, and he did not survive that one. Teixeira followed, and while Gee certainly had the right idea ' utilize off-speed pitches down in the strikezone ' he threw three of the nine total curveballs in succession to Teixeira in that at-bat, hanging the last one which resulted in two big runs. If the offense is flowing, that's not the end of the world, but that home run was too big of a challenge for the Mets to overcome last night.

Gee got off to a real rocky start in 2012 thanks to an inconsistent change-up. Last year, he used that pitch effectively to get left-handed hitters out ' they hit .224 against him last year. However, before this most recent stretch of success, lefties were hitting well over .300 against him and he was getting pummeled. However, he has found a feel for that along with his slider and has improved his opposing average against lefties ' they're now hitting .286 against him. If he can maintain this rhythm, Gee should be able to put the start of his 2012 season in the rear view mirror.

Sabtu, 09 Juni 2012

Gotham Baseball Magazine > Farewell to The Kid

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