Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Mets Scalp the Braves this Weekend

In my last post I stated my concerns with the Mets ability to beat the Braves. As luck would have it the Mets finally managed to beat Smoltz and Hudson and win 2out of the three games this weekend.

Friday's game was a joke. The rookie pitcher of the Braves walked in 3 runs and still managed to beat the Mets. Pelfrey didn't do himself any favors either. I don't understand Mike. Some games he's great mixing his pitches and keeping them low in the zone. Other games he can't find the plate and everything is up in the zone.

David can't get out of his slump, Castillo showed no signs of life at the plate, Beltran continues to struggle too. The only hits came from Casanova and Anderson. All in All a pretty sad night when the Mets allow a struggling pitcher to limit them to only 2 hits.

Saturday's game was a little better. John Maine pitched well, although he developed a cramp in his pitching hand after 5 innings. He struck out 7, walked 3 , and only allowed 2 runs. He complained that his hand cramped up from having to rub up the balls so often. John said that they were slippery all day. After John left the game, Heilman starts the 6th inning and then things get interesting. He gets 2 quick outs, and then can't get the last one. He walked one batter, allows a couple of hits, and a run to score. It was Deja Vue' all over again. Aaron did manage to get out of the inning, and the rest of the pen kept the Braves from scoring anymore runs. Wagner did his usual. 3 batters up, three outs made. Billy truly is the "SANDMAN" this year, and everyone should enjoy his work. Who would have thought that going to a full wind-up would help him so much. I've seen him hit 99 MPH this year, and he's over 95 frequently.

The offense decided to wake up and score a few runs too. David came out of his slump with 2 hits, Delgado had an RBI, Beltran and Church also had hits and drove in runs. Ryan has been just spectacular at the plate and the field this year. I bet no one is complaining about Milledge now. What was troubling was the fact that all the Mets scoring came in the 3rd inning. That is a common problem this year. They score some runs, and then forget to add more to the board in later innings. Thankfully Hudson had a short day, and the Mets got to him early.

Sunday's game was another chance for the Mets to finally put a kink in Smoltz' armour. He's been off the charts this year. Coming into this game he hadn't given up more than 1 run in a game this year, and had an ERA of .78!!!! And he's almost 41? Why couldn't Glavine pitch like that when he was with the Mets? Figueroa pitched well today. Although he seemed to be troubled by the mound conditions, he kept the Braves off balance enough to get the win.

David has a real problem with Smoltz. He can't hit John and looks bad doing it. But thankfully Delgado and Casanova were hitting Smoltz. They both hit home runs off John and staked Figueroa to a lead. Delgado then hit a 2nd home run in the 7th inning to extend the lead. Castillo had 3 hits today and may be coming out of his funk. What was nice to see today was the fact that the Mets continued to add runs during the game. All too often that hasn't happened this season. Maybe this will help turn the season around for Carlos and Luis. It makes it very difficult to win games when they're automatic outs.

Next up are the Pirates. Maybe Omar will take this opportunity to talk up a trade for Nady. With Alou's messed up ankle, who knows what if anything the Mets will get from him this year. Yes folks that's right, Alou' has a messed up ankle that may be broken. He had an CT scan and it shows what could be a broken bone in his ankle. He showed up to the park in Port. St. Lucie with a swollen ankle. What was he doing to hurt that? Walking down the hall? It's time to call it quits with Alou'. Mets fans can't sit and wait for him to decide to get healthy. If his body is so fragile, how long can he stay healthy if he ever does get to NY?

What do you think? Should the Mets send Alou' packing and find another bat for the order now? Or should we hope and pray that he somehow gets healthy and stays healthy for the rest of the year?

10 comments:

Scrot said...

In light of recent developments with Alou, a deal has to be made. Only one problem. What do we have to offer anyone? We can't deal away Martinez or any other top notch prospect.

Dan the Mets Fan said...

How about Heilman and Sosa? Two pitchers that can or want to start. Heilman can be replaced by Muniz, and Sosa can be replaced by Wise.

Scrot said...

Who the hell is going to want them?

Scrot said...

P.S. - Let the Bonds rumors begin.

Dan the Mets Fan said...

Scrot, that's a good point. Neither Heilman or Sosa are pitching in a way that any team would be willing to give up someone decent for them. And you already know that I don't care about Bonds' baggage. The man is still an on-base machine...

Dan the Mets Fan said...

I think the Reds and or the Pirates would be interested. I think Heilman would do better out of NY and the same goes for Sosa. The Reds are in serious need of pitching, and the Pirates have 2 starters. What about Aaron and Sosa for Griffey or Nady?

Dan the Mets Fan said...

The Mets already have one broken down "on Base Machine" on the roster. Alou'. And he can't stay healthy either. Enough of the Bonds chatter.

Dan the Mets Fan said...

I think the Pirates have already said that they won't trade Nady back to the Mets. Besides, right now, he's the only offense they have! As for the Reds, there is no way that Griffey agrees to a trade with the Mets. Besides, he's almost as fragile as Alou!

Dan the Mets Fan said...

between the 2 of them, the outfield is covered. One bats rt handed, the other left handed. LOL

Scrot said...

Either way you look at it, this is god's way of punishing the Mets for not saying goodbye to Alou and pursuing Aaron Rowand or someone half Alou's age. We resigned Alou with hopes that Fernando Martinez would be ready by late '08 or early '09.

I dont' want Bonds anywhere near Shea Stadium. All I know is that the rumors are going to be going ape-shit soon.