My Mets All-Decade Team

Without further ado, I present my All-Decade Mets team:

Catcher: Mike Piazza

Not much of a question here. Was with the Mets 1998-2005 (though he was a 1B primarily one season). Put up good offensive numbers with the Mets for the half of the decade that he was here for.

First Baseman: Carlos Delgado

Delgado seems to be another no-brainer. From 2006-2009, he gave the Mets security at a position that had seen Mo Vaughn, Jason Phillips, and Doug Mientkiewicz, among others this decade. Put up good offensive numbers from 2006-2008, was unfortunately sidelined for most of the 2009 season.

Second Baseman: Luis Castillo

Very very tempting to give this to Edgardo Alfonzo. Alfonzo played for the Mets in the first 3 seasons of this decade, but struggled in 2001 and played at third base in 2002. Castillo, while having his share of misfortunes, put up solid production for two and a half seasons with the Mets (though his defense left a lot to be desired).

Shortstop: Jose Reyes
No explanation necessary.

Third Baseman: David Wright
Again, no explanation necessary.

Left fielder: Cliff Floyd
Floyd was the Mets main left fielder from 2003-2006. He put up very good numbers throughout but diminished greatly in 2006.

Center fielder: Carlos Beltran
A lot of these really don't need much explanation.

Right fielder: Shawn Green
Wow, this was a tough one, considering that the Mets have had a different main right fielder each year of the decade (Bell, Perez, Burnitz, Cedeno, Hidalgo, Diaz, Green, Church, Francoeur). Green came to the Mets in a trade with the Diamondbacks in August of 2006, played in the 2006 postseason with New York and was their main right fielder in the unfortunate 2007 season. I feel that he just edges out Ryan Church, as both played a season and change with the Mets.

Starting Pitcher: Al Leiter
Leiter played for the Mets from 1998-2004. In his time with the Mets this decade, he was very consistent, pitching at least 170 innings each season, with at least 10 wins, and an ERA under 4 each season.

Relief Pitcher: Pedro Feliciano
I nearly gave this one to John Franco or Aaron Heilman (yeah), but in the end I felt that Feliciano was the strongest non-closer reliever this decade for the Mets. In 367 appearances, he has a 3.31 ERA (128 ERA+). He led the league in games pitched in 2008-9. He averaged 8.3 strikeouts per 9 innings over this decade.

Closer: Billy Wagner
The other Mets closers this decade: Armando Benitez, Braden Looper, Luis Ayala/Aaron Heilman tandem, and a weak season of Francisco Rodriguez.

Yeah, it's Wagner.

Honorable Mentions at each position are as follows:
C Paul Lo Duca
1B Todd Zeile
2B Edgardo Alfonzo
SS Rey Ordonez
3B Robin Ventura
LF Benny Agbayani
CF Jay Payton
RF Ryan Church
SP Tom Glavine
RP Aaron Heilman
CL Armando Benitez

Caught in the Middle

Note: Starting with this post, I'm going to restructure this blog. I'm now going to be focusing on short essay type posts about baseball, mostly about the Mets. I generally won't be providing game recaps and the such anymore, as that became very difficult and didn't work with my schedule well.

----
It seems that nowadays, there's two categories of baseball fans: the fan that will swear by sabermetrics, who knows all the stat acronyms like the back of his hand, who idolizes Bill James and Billy Beane; and the fan that acts like sabermetric advances are a plague on our pastime, who trusts his eyes a bit too much, who would rather go back to the "good old days" when the game wasn't all about numbers.

Well, it appears I'm caught right in the middle.

I used to be dead set against sabermetrics, the exact prototype of the latter fan from above. I wouldn't go past the easy stats. I'd swear by wins, saves, RBIs, and things like that. Hell, I wasn't even familiar with on-base percentage. As I look back on those years, I feel that part of my wariness of sabermetrics came out of fear and confusion. I saw all of these complex formulas and worried. I have many awful memories of geometry tests where I'd simply forget all of the formulas when I needed them most. It seemed I was worried about that happening here too.

Eventually, after becoming the laughing stock quite often for not having any decent stats to bring up in arguments, I decided to learn a few advanced ones. I talked with a sabermetrically-inclined friend of mine, and it quickly dawned on me that I didn't need to know the formulas at all to have a grasp on the stats. With the help of my friend (and some of my own research), I quickly became familiar with UZR, ERA+, FIP, WPA, and +/-, among others.

This is no way means though that I am permanently limiting myself, that would be foolish and would make me no better than I used to be. I will continue to look to become comfortable with different advanced metrics at my own pace. As this period of enlightenment inches on, though, I am stuck in limbo.

When I argue with those that use more advanced statistics, my arguments feel weak. When I argue with those that are, let's say, more "old-fashioned", it feels as if I am going right over their head.

It's a tricky area that I'm going to need to learn to balance, and one day, I hope to be able to argue with both the best of them and the...not so best of them.

We're Baaack....

and we now have a new co-writer named Nelson!



No, not that Nelson.

We're planning to do occasional offseason posts (mostly when signings and trades occur), and return full-strength for the regular season in 2010!

Double Bobby Jones going on hiatus

I'll be shelfing Double Bobby Jones for a while as I search for more writers. Next season we will be back and even better. Keep Doublebobbyjones.com bookmarked and check back every once in a while as I may still post on occasion.

If all goes well, we may be back in time for the Hot Stove.

8/23/09 Phillies at Mets Lineups

I don't have time for a full post, so this post will be just with the lineups.

Mets
CF Pagan
2B Castillo
1B Murphy
RF Francoeur
LF Sullivan
3B Tatis
C Schneider
SS Hernandez
SP Perez

Phillies
SS Rollins
CF Victorino
RF Werth
1B Howard
LF Ibanez
3B Feliz
2B Bruntlett
C Ruiz
SP Martinez

8/22/09 Phillies at Mets Lineups

The Specifics


-Game 2 of a 4 game series
-Mets lead the series 1-0
-7:30 PM estimated start time on SNY*

* There will be a ceremony honoring the 40th anniversary of the Mets 1969 World Series championship before today's game. The ceremony can also be seen on SNY.

The Pitchers

Pitching for the Phillies is J.A. Happ. Happ, a rookie, is 9-2 with a 2.66 ERA this season.

Pitching for the Mets is Tim Redding. Redding is 1-4 with a 6.53 ERA this season.

The Lineups

Statistics for both teams can be found on the Mets and Phillies team pages on baseball-reference.com.

Mets Lineup

1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. Gary Sheffield LF
4. Jeff Francoeur RF
5. Fernando Tatis 3B
6. Daniel Murphy 1B
7. Omir Santos C
8. Wilson Valdez SS
9. Tim Redding P

Phillies Lineup
1. Jimmy Rollins SS
2. Shane Victorino CF
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Jayson Werth RF
6. Raul Ibanez LF
7. Pedro Feliz 3B
8. Carlos Ruiz C
9. J.A. Happ P


The Notes

-IF Andy Green was taken off the active roster. Pitcher Pat Misch has been called up from AAA Buffalo to take his place. Pat Misch played with the Mets earlier this season, serving as a long reliever. He may be added to the starting rotation due to the loss of Livan Hernandez.

-Tim Redding is making his first start since July 2nd in Pittsburgh.

-The current Phillies team is 42-for-188 against Redding, a .223 batting average.

-The current Mets team is 4-for-34 against Happ, for a .188 batting average

The Prediction
Happ shuts down the Mets. Phils win 5-0.

8/21/09 Phillies at Mets Lineups

The Specifics

-Game 1 of a 4-game series
-7:10 PM on SNY

The Pitching Matchup

Cole Hamels (7-7, 4.69 ERA) at Mike Pelfrey (8-8, 4.75 ERA)

The Lineups

Statistics for both teams can be found on the Mets and Phillies team pages on baseball-reference.com.

Mets Lineup
1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. Gary Sheffield LF
4. Jeff Francoeur RF
5. Fernando Tatis 3B
6. Daniel Murphy 1B
7. Omir Santos C
8. Anderson Hernandez SS
9. Mike Pelfrey SP

Phillies Lineup
1. Jimmy Rollins SS
2. Shane Victorino CF
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Jayson Werth RF
6. Raul Ibanez LF
7. Greg Dobbs 3B
8. Carlos Ruiz C
9. Cole Hamels SP

The Notes

-Billy Wagner was claimed on waivers by the Boston Red Sox and have 3 days to try and make a trade.

-Storms are in the area and the game will likely not start at its scheduled time.

Going to the game tonight

so no lineups :(

This is why I need another writer!!!

Breaking News: Livan Hernandez Released

According to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post on Twitter, the Mets have released SP Livan Hernandez to make room for RP Billy Wagner on the active roster.

8/19/09 Braves 15, Mets 2

It was bad. 'Nuff said.

Full boxscore and recap if you dare available here, courtesy of MLB.com.

8/19/09 Braves at Mets Lineups

The Specifics

Braves at Mets

Game 2 of 3 (Mets lead series 1-0)

7:10 PM on SNY

Flushing weather, courtesy of Weather.com

The Pitching Matchup

Jair Jurrjens (9-8, 2.99 ERA) vs. Bobby Parnell (3-4, 3.50 ERA)

The Lineups


Mets
1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. Gary Sheffield LF
4. Daniel Murphy 1B
5. Jeff Francoeur RF
6. Fernando Tatis 3B
7. Omir Santos C
8. Anderson Hernandez SS
9. Bobby Parnell P

Braves
1. Omar Infante 2B
2. Garret Anderson LF
3. Chipper Jones 3B
4. Brian McCann C
5. Adam LaRoche 1B
6. Yunel Escobar SS
7. Matt Diaz RF
8. Ryan Church CF
9. Jair Jurrjens P


The Notes

-Bobby Parnell makes his 3rd career start tonight. He is 1-1 with an ERA under 2 in his first 2. His pitch maximum appears to be a regular one at this point: around 100 pitches.

-The Mets are sticking with the lineup that produced big yesterday.

-Martin Prado is out of the Braves lineup due to sporadic headaches he has been suffering.

-Oliver Perez and Jerry Manuel agree that Perez should be able to make his next start.

-Pending a disaster, Billy Wagner will be activated before tomorrow's game. Presumably Elmer Dessens or Andy Green would be demoted to make room for Wagner.

8/17/09 Mets 9, Braves 4

The Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by a score of 9 to 4 tonight.

Win- Oliver Perez (3-3)
Loss- Derek Lowe (12-8)

Full boxscore and recap available here, courtesy of MLB.com.


Game Notes

-Holy run support, Batman

-Mets scored 8 runs in a 29 minute 4th inning on a single-inning franchise record 10 hits.

-Oliver Perez gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings of work (including home runs by Matt Diaz and Adam LaRoche), but got the win.

-Derek Lowe was rolling through the Mets lineup, but with one out in the 4th, he took a line drive to the hand. That line drive clearly messed him up, as he ended up surrendering 8 runs that inning before his early exit.

-Braves starting first baseman Martin Prado, who had been experiencing sporadic headaches recently, left the game after his at-bat in the first due to the aforementioned headaches. He was replaced by Adam LaRoche, who homered in the game.

-Luis Castillo, Gary Sheffield, and Jeff Francoeur all went 3-for-5 in tonight's game.

-Former Met Ryan Church went 0-for-4 tonight.

-Daniel "The Wrench" Murphy went 1-for-4, and recorded 2 outs in the lengthy 4th inning.

Mets Players of the Game: Everyone except Daniel Murphy

8/17/09 Braves at Mets Lineups

Tonight the Atlanta Braves take on the Mets at Citi Field for the first game of a 3-game series. The game can be seen at 7:10 PM on SNY.

IF Alex Cora was placed on the 15-day DL prior to today's game. IF Wilson Valdez was called up from AAA Buffalo to take Cora's place on the active roster.

Mets Lineup
Angel Pagan CF .287/.333/.476
Luis Castillo 2B .302/.396/.361
Gary Sheffield LF .283/.379/.463
Daniel Murphy 1B .252/.314/.374
Jeff Francoeur RF .263/.296/.384
Fernando Tatis 3B .244/.306/.402
Omir Santos C .256/.293/.395
Anderson Hernandez SS .254/.320/.321
Oliver Perez LHP 2-3, 5.97 ERA

Braves Lineup
Omar Infante 2B .333/.383/.406
Martin Prado 1B .310/.363/.470
Chipper Jones 3B .295/.406/.486
Brian McCann C .284/.358/.491
Yunel Escobar SS .298/.368/.449
Garret Anderson LF .282/.313/.435
Matt Diaz RF .291/.360/.453
Ryan Church CF .274/.342/.384
Derek Lowe RHP 12-7, 4.08 ERA

Mike's Pregame Prediction: Braves win 5-2

8/16/09 Giants 10, Mets 1 Postgame Review

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Mets by a score of 10 to 1 to earn a split of the four-game series.

Win- Joe Martinez (3-1)
Loss- Livan Hernandez (7-8)

Full boxscore and recap available here, thanks to MLB.com.

Game Notes

-Get Livan Hernandez out of the rotation already! Livan gave up 6 runs today in 5 1/3 innings pitched and lost.

-Joe Martinez pitched very well (5 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER) but was taken out after 67 pitches for a pinch hitter.

-Mets baserunning was awful tonight, 2 runners were caught off of the base resulting in double plays.

-Aaron Rowand of the Giants went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI

-Nick Green was walked in his first at-bat as a Met (in the bottom of the 9th)

-The Giants scored runs in 6 of the 9 innings tonight

Mets Player of the Game: Daniel Murphy (2-for-4, 2B)


Tomorrow the Mets begin a series at Citi Field against the Atlanta Braves.

Breaking News: Cora Out for the Season

Gary Cohen just reported on SNY that Alex Cora has chosen to get surgery on his injured thumb and will miss the remainder of the 2009 season.

A corresponding roster move will be made before tomorrow's game. I'd predict that Argenis Reyes or Mike Lamb gets the callup.

8/16/09 Giants at Mets Lineups

Tonight the Mets take on the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field for the finale of a 4-game series. The game can be seen on SNY at 7:10 PM.

Also, Billy Wagner is not expected to be activated before today's game. He will most likely be activated before tomorrow's game against the Atlanta Braves.

Mets Lineup
Cory Sullivan CF .263/.328/.421
Luis Castillo 2B .304/.398/.364
Gary Sheffield LF .283/.377/.464
Daniel Murphy 1B .249/.312/.370
Jeff Francoeur RF .263/.296/.385
Fernando Tatis 3B .248/.311/.409
Brian Schneider C .192/.288/.336
Anderson Hernandez SS .254/.321/.323
Livan Hernandez RHP 7-7, 5.28 ERA


Giants Lineup
Eugenio Velez LF .302/.336/.440
Freddy Sanchez 2B .271/.298/.371
Pablo Sandoval 3B .330/.380/.551
Bengie Molina C .265/.279/.442
Ryan Garko 1B .271/.352/.427
Randy Winn RF .262/.314/.364
Aaron Rowand CF .266/.321/.425
Edgar Renteria SS .256/.310/.319
Joe Martinez RHP 2-1, 6.00 ERA

Mike's Pregame Prediction- Mets win 10-8 in a slugfest.

Billy Wagner at Citi Field

Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News reports that Billy Wagner is at Citi Field. No word on whether he will be activated today. When Wagner is activated, it is assumed that either Elmer Dessens or Andy Green would be dropped from the active roster.

Looking For Writers

I'm looking for writers to help assist me in writing Double Bobby Jones, so all of our readers don't have to suffer when I oversleep (such as today) or am away (such as tomorrow, when I'll be at the game).

What I'm looking for in a writer:

-Someone with good grammar and spelling skills (a must)
-Someone with AIM (not entirely necessary, but it would make things much easier)
-Someone who sleeps on a semi-normal schedule (because I often wake up after 1 PM games start)
-Someone with a basic knowledge of Baseball-reference.com and Blogger
-A diehard Mets fan with a very good knowledge of the team and the current Mets players
-Someone who has access to computers and Blogger while at work/school

Hit me up on Twitter (@metsguy234), on AIM (Metsguy234), or via email (doublebobbyjones@gmail.com) if you're interested.

Andy Green Replaces Wright on Roster

IF Andy Green has been called up from AAA Buffalo and will replace David Wright on the Mets active roster.

Breaking News: Wright to 15-Day DL

See title ^

Postgame post coming up a bit later (and apologies for the lack of lineups today, I'm attempting to get a 2nd writer to collaborate with me on DBJ, until then there may be a few lapses in posts).

Double Bobby Jones is now on Facebook!

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Breaking News: CAT Scans on Wright Negative

Mets may have just dodged a major bullet.

SNY is reporting that the CAT scans on David Wright came up negative. Wright suffered a concussion and will stay in the hospital overnight as a precaution.

8/15/09 Giants 5, Mets 4 (10 inn.) Postgame Review

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Mets by a score of 5-4 in 10 innings today, tying the 4 game series at 1 apiece.

Win- Brian Wilson (5-5)
Loss- Francisco Rodriguez (2-4)

Full boxscore and recap available here, courtesy of MLB.com.

Game Notes

-Who didn't see this coming? David Wright was hit in the head by a Matt Cain fastball in the 4th inning, crumpled to the ground in pain, and obviously left the game. He was replaced by Fernando Tatis. Wright was taken to the hospital, and to my knowledge no medical reports have come back yet.

-In the 7th inning, Johan Santana threw a pitch behind Pablo Sandoval (possibly as an attempt at retaliation). Sandoval took Santana deep on the very next pitch. This resulted in both benches being warned.

-After the warning, Santana hit Bengie Molina with a pitch. He was not ejected, but he was taken out of the game by Jerry Manuel after the HBP.

-Matt Cain was very sharp tonight.

-Luis "Slappy" Castillo went 3-for-4, and also struck out (for whatever reason, he's been K'ing a lot lately).

-Francisco Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 9th, stayed in for the 10th and surrendered a solo homer to Giants catcher Bengie Molina. Rodriguez received the loss today.

-Brian Wilson went 2 2/3 innings in relief, a career high, and received the win in today's game.

-The Mets fell to 54-62 with today's loss.

Mets Player of the Game: David Wright, for getting up by himself after being hit on the head by Matt Cain in the 4th.

The Final One Is Down

Wright hit square on the temple by a Matt Cain pitch in the bottom of the 4th. After crumbling on the ground in pain, Wright left the game for a pinch runner. I'll relay news as it comes in.

Thoughts:

What the fuck ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!??????

8/15/09 Giants at Mets Lineups

At 4:10 PM, the Mets take on the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field for the second game of a 4-game series. The game can be seen on FOX.

This post will just make it in just before the game starts (I overslept), so my apologies but no stats vs. the opposing pitcher today. Stats vs. opponent will return for tomorrow's game.

Mets Lineup
Cory Sullivan CF .269/.339/.442
Luis Castillo 2B .300/.394/.352
David Wright 3B .325/.414/.468
Gary Sheffield LF .286/.381/.472
Daniel Murphy 1B 248/.311/.370
Jeff Francoeur RF .263/.297/.388
Brian Schneider C .198/.296/.347
Anderson Hernandez SS .255/.318/.325
Johan Santana LHP 13-8, 3.00 ERA

Giants Lineup
Eugenio Velez LF .306/.336/.444
Freddy Sanchez 2B .299/.336/.440
Pablo Sandoval 3B .329/.377/.546
Bengie Molina C .260/.273/.429
Ryan Garko 1B .272/.354/.431
Aaron Rowand CF .269/.325/.431
Nate Schierholtz RF .291/.321/.427
Edgar Renteria SS .256/.311/.320
Matt Cain RHP 12-4, 2.44 ERA

Mike's Pregame Prediction: File this under "no shit Sherlock": I'm predicting there will be a serious pitchers duel today. Mets win on a walkoff hit in the bottom of the 10th 2-1.

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8/14/09 Mets 3, Giants 0 Postgame Review

The Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants by a score of 3-0 this evening.

Win- Bobby Parnell (3-4)
Loss- Barry Zito (8-11)
Save- Francisco Rodriguez (26)

Full boxscore and recap here, courtesy of MLB.com.

Game Notes

-Bobby Parnell was absolutely brilliant tonight. He threw 6 shutout innings in a winning effort, only gave up 3 hits, and struck out 7 Giants batters.

-Frankie "Don't Call Me K-Rod" Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 26th save of the season.

-Angel Pagan led off the game with his 3rd home run of the year. It was the first leadoff homer hit by a Met since last September.

-Giants starter Barry Zito went 5+ innings, gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, walked 2, struck out 5. Zito received the loss today.

-The Mets absolutely stymied the Giants tonight.

The Mets now have a 54-61 record.

Mets Player of the Game: Bobby Parnell

New Location

You can now find Double Bobby Jones at www.doublebobbyjones.com, in addition to the original location of DBJ, www.doublebobbyjones.blogspot.com.

Postgame post coming up shortly.

8/14/09 Giants at Mets Lineups

At 7:10 PM, the Mets take on the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field for the opening game of a 4-game series. The game can be seen on SNY.

The numbers in parentheses are that player's stats against the opposing starter.

Mets Lineup
Angel Pagan CF .287/.331/.459 (1-for-3)
Luis Castillo 2B .299/.393/.352 (0-for-3)
David Wright 3B .325/.415/.468 (3-for-8)
Gary Sheffield LF .288/.385/.476 (8-for-20, 2 HR)
Jeff Francoeur RF .263/.297/.386 (1-for-3, 2B)
Fernando Tatis 1B .252/.314/.419 (3-for-5, 3 2B)
Omir Santos C .258/.296/.402 (never faced Zito)
Anderson Hernandez SS .258/.322/.329 (never faced Zito)
Bobby Parnell RHP 2-4, 3.94 ERA


Giants Lineup
Eugenio Velez LF .317/.349/.462 (never faced Parnell)
Freddy Sanchez 2B .299/.337/.442 (never faced Parnell)
Pablo Sandoval 3B .329/.378/.549 (0-for-1)
Bengie Molina C .262/.275/.433 (never faced Parnell)
Ryan Garko 1B .276/.358/.437 (never faced Parnell)
Nate Schierholtz RF .296/.325/.434 (never faced Parnell)
Aaron Rowand CF .271/.327/.435 (0-for-1)
Edgar Renteria SS .253/.308/.317 (1-for-1)
Barry Zito LHP 8-10, 4.40 ERA


Notes:
-No Daniel Murphy in the lineup for the 2nd straight game.

-Bobby Parnell is making his 2nd Major League start tonight, and is on an 85-pitch limit.

-Let's go Mets!

Mike's Pregame Prediction: Mets win 8-5, get home runs from Sheffield and Santos. Parnell goes 4 1/3, gives up 3 runs. Zito gets knocked out early.

8/12/09 Mets 6, DBacks 4- Postgame Review

The Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 6-4 today.

Win- Pedro Feliciano (5-4)
Loss- Jon Rauch (2-1)

Full boxscore and recap here, courtesy of MLB.com.

Game Notes
-Frenchy French actually walked, and went 2-for-3!

-Cory Sullivan tripled twice

-Arizona made 2 errors, had 2 wild pitches, a passed ball, and a dropped third strike which got Wright on base.

-Omir Santos was involved in a collision at the plate.

-Wright appeared to be hurt at one point, but chose to stay in the game.

-Seanathan Green gave up 2 runs in one inning of work, upping his ERA to 5.19.

-Brian "Socks" Stokes pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

-The Mets are now 8 games under .500

Mets Player of the Game: Cory Sullivan

8/12/09 Mets at DBacks Lineups

At 3:40 PM, the Mets take on the Diamondbacks at Chase Field for the final game of this 3-game series. The game can be seen on SportsNet New York.

The numbers in parentheses are that player's stats against the opposing starter.

Mets
CF Cory Sullivan .250/.315/.354 (1-for-4, 3B)
2B Alex Cora .256/.325/.316 (3-for-10, 2 2B)
3B David Wright .322/.414/.466 (0-for-7)
LF Gary Sheffield .283/.379/.475 (6-for-16, 2B)
RF Jeff Francoeur .265/.295/.388 (5-for-8, 2B, HR)
1B Fernando Tatis .243/.304/.413 (1-for-2, 2B)
C Omir Santos .263/.302/.410 (never faced Garland)
SS Anderson Hernandez .262/.326/.333 (never faced Garland)
LHP Oliver Perez 2-3, 6.28 ERA

Diamondbacks
RF Trent Oeltjen .500/.500/1.042 (never faced Perez)
SS Augie Ojeda .240/.346/.328 (1-for-1)
LF Ryan Roberts .280/.371/.447 (1-for-3)
3B Mark Reynolds .286/.374/.604 (0-for-4)
CF Gerardo Parra .290/.328/.427 (2-for-3)
C Chris Snyder .208/.337/.370 (1-for-10)
2B Rusty Ryal .500/.500/.500 (never faced Perez)
1B Josh Whitesell .191/.356/.298 (never faced Perez)
RHP Jon Garland 6-10, 4.33 ERA

Mike's Pregame Prediction: Perez pitches decently, but Arizona hits the Mets bullpen hard late in the game, and pulls out a 5-2 win.

8/11/09 DBacks 6, Mets 2- Postgame Review

First of all, I predicted the score of the game correctly in my first ever lineups posting.

Secondly, the Mets fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks today by a score of 6-2.

Win- Max Scherzer (7-6)
Loss- Livan Hernandez (7-7)

Game Notes
-Mets starter Livan Hernandez was rocked by the Diamondbacks early, surrendering 5 earned runs on 6 hits in 4 innings of work tonight.

-Dbacks starter Max Scherzer was decent, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up 8 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 8.

-Rookie outfielder Trent Oeltjen of the Diamondbacks was 4-for-4, and fell a home run short of the cycle.

-Sr. no tiene la disciplina de la placa (AKA Jeff Francoeur) had a triple and a homer.

-The Mets fell 9 games under .500 with this loss.

Rumor: Mets Call up Malo

According to Kevin Burkhardt, light-hitting infielder Jonathan Malo has been called up to the Mets, will wear #89, and arrive around the 6th inning. No word on who will be removed from the 25-man roster if Malo has in fact been called up.

8/11/09 Mets at DBacks Lineups

Today's game can be seen at 9:40 PM on SNY.

Note: Numbers in parentheses are player's career stats against opposing starter.

Mets (sans David Wright)

Cory Sullivan CF .227/.300/.318 (1-for-1)
Luis Castillo 2B .300/.395/.353 (0-for-4)
Fernando Tatis 3B .243/.305/.416 (never faced Scherzer)
Daniel Murphy 1B .252/.316/.377 (1-for-2)
Jeff Francoeur RF .298/.327/.442 (1-for-5)
Jeremy Reed LF .256/.296/.342 (never faced Scherzer)
Alex Cora SS .256/.326/.317 (1-for-2, 2B)
Brian Schneider C .197/.297/.350 (1-for-3, 2B)
Livan Hernandez RHP 7-6, 5.08 ERA

Diamondbacks
Stephen Drew SS .267/.332/.449 (1-for-7)
Trent Oeltjen LF .400/.400/.900 (never faced Hernandez)
Gerardo Parra CF .290/.330/.429 (0-for-3)
Mark Reynolds 3B .290/.378/.611 (4-for-6,2B,HR)
Miguel Montero C .289/.346/.487 (1-for-3, HR)
Ryan Roberts 2B .278/.368/.443 (0-for-1)
Chad Tracy 1B .235/.293/.380 (4-for-16, 2 HR)
Alex Romero RF .291/.349/.380 (never faced Hernandez)
Max Scherzer RHP 6-6, 4.01 ERA

Mike's Pregame Prediction: Arizona gets to Livan early, wins 6 to 2. Oeltjen and Tracy homer for the Diamondbacks. Mets get a HR by Jeremy Reed.

Why I'm Writing This Blog

Reasons why I'm writing this Mets blog:

-Jeremy Reed's errant throw to home in LA, resulting in a walk-off error (while he was playing 1B)
-Ryan Church missing third base
-Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran both not calling for a fly ball, resulting in it falling between the two (same game as the last two)
-Daniel Murphy's dropped fly ball
-Johan Santana's two consecutive losses where he didn't allow an earned run
-Ryan Braun's Little League grand slam against the Mets
-Johan Santana's epic fail start against the Yankees
-Sean Green hitting a batter with the bases loaded in the top 10th against St. Louis, then immediately giving up a grand slam
-Francisco Rodriguez walking Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded
-Francisco Rodriguez giving up a walk-off grand slam to Everth Cabrera
-Luis Castillo hurting his ankle walking down the dugout steps
-the Mets losing series to Washington, San Diego, and Baltimore
-Jeff Francoeur ducking and letting a fly ball land in front of him in Washington
-Jeff Francoeur not unintentionally walking until about 20 games into his Mets career
-INJURIES

And, of course, how could I forget: