Baseball is fickle, every fan of the game knows that. The 1962 Mets, considered by many to be the worst team of all time won 1/4 of their games.
A .250 winning percentage is obscenely low, and a .700 winning percentage is exceedingly high. As such, when two ballclubs play a game, even if one has significantly more talent than the other, you can never predict the outcome with real certainty.
That being said, the Mets' sweep of the Washington Nationals was hardly unpredictable (see this). Even though they were missing a few key players, the Mets outclassed the Nats. Gary Sheffield was bashing the ball, Messrs. Maine, Hernandez, and Santana pitched quite well, and the team as a whole played like they meant it.
The Mets even did well in regard to video review, with Sheffield and Murphy's blasts being ruled home runs.
Additionally, your "Met Fan" blogger made his way to Citi Field for the first time on Memorial Day, and was sitting in exactly the wrong spot to have a live opinion on Gary Sheffield's home run.
But you can't mess with a sweep that knocks the Mets into first place.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
What a Welcome
The Mets are surely expecting an easy go of it when they commence a three-game series with the cellar-dwelling Washington Nationals tomorrow evening. And after winning two of three games over the weekend from the powerhouse Boston Red Sox you can harldy blame them if that's how they feel.
The Mets entered Boston down in the doldrums, reeling after four straight losses on the left coast to the Giants and Dodgers. The Mets certainly should have expected to lose two out of three to the Red Sox in Boston. But instead, they went out, performed and surprised everyone, including (I bet) themselves in taking the series from the defending AL East Champions.
It started on Friday night when Johan Santana out-dueled Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Mets emerged as victors by a count of 5 to
Saturday night's win was certainly dramatic. Down to their last out against one of the premier relief aces in baseball, Sox closer Johnathan Papelbon, the Mets came back to win with the power of Omir Santos, the discernment of the umpiring crew, and the gloves of David Wright, Ramon Martinez, Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy (left-to-right). (Parenthetically, I think Daniel Murphy is using Carlos Delgado's glove when playing first base. As such, perhaps he deserves the credit! I wonder if Bill James would give him a win share for the use of his glove. If so, he may be the first player ever to earn a win share while on the Disabled List.)
Sunday's game was a notably bad one for the Mets' pitching. The 12 runs they allowed tied the team's season high. The hitting was alright, including another home run for a Met catcher, this time Ramon Castro.
All in all, the Mets are 23-20, and 1.5 games out of first place, and if they want to show that they are a playoff-caliber team, they will have to take advantage of the next two weeks, when they will face the Nationals, Marlins and Pirates, all of whom are struggling.
The Mets entered Boston down in the doldrums, reeling after four straight losses on the left coast to the Giants and Dodgers. The Mets certainly should have expected to lose two out of three to the Red Sox in Boston. But instead, they went out, performed and surprised everyone, including (I bet) themselves in taking the series from the defending AL East Champions.
It started on Friday night when Johan Santana out-dueled Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Mets emerged as victors by a count of 5 to
Saturday night's win was certainly dramatic. Down to their last out against one of the premier relief aces in baseball, Sox closer Johnathan Papelbon, the Mets came back to win with the power of Omir Santos, the discernment of the umpiring crew, and the gloves of David Wright, Ramon Martinez, Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy (left-to-right). (Parenthetically, I think Daniel Murphy is using Carlos Delgado's glove when playing first base. As such, perhaps he deserves the credit! I wonder if Bill James would give him a win share for the use of his glove. If so, he may be the first player ever to earn a win share while on the Disabled List.)
Sunday's game was a notably bad one for the Mets' pitching. The 12 runs they allowed tied the team's season high. The hitting was alright, including another home run for a Met catcher, this time Ramon Castro.
All in all, the Mets are 23-20, and 1.5 games out of first place, and if they want to show that they are a playoff-caliber team, they will have to take advantage of the next two weeks, when they will face the Nationals, Marlins and Pirates, all of whom are struggling.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Glad to be back
After our unexcused absence of the last few week's, we at this blog are glad to announce that there is a new poll up. Enjoy.
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Today, Sunday May 17th, 2009, the New York Mets are in first place.
If you're just tuning into the season (which you had better not be - but if you are), after hearing that statement, you probably figure that Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine and Livan Hernandez have all pitched rather well. You probably think that the Mets' bullpen has been everything it wasn't in 2008. You probably think that Reyes and Murphy have gotten on base consistently and Wright, Delgado, Beltran and Church have been driving them in. You probably think that they have played well defensively.
Frankly, you're probably wrong.
Oh, not on every count, certainly not. Johan Santana has pitched even better than expected. Beltran and Wright have hit like All-Stars. But on the whole, the Mets journey to first place has not gone as planned.
Oliver Perez pitched his way onto the disabled list and Carlos Delgado is injured, as well. Jose Reyes has missed the last three games with a tight calf.
The secret for the Mets success has a lot to do with the success of the role players. Fernando Tatis, Gary Sheffield, Alex Cora and Ramon Castro have all been effective. Johnathan Niese and Nelson Figueroa have each contributed a quality start. And the regulars, even when less than expected (see Ryan Church) have been good enough.
And when you've got your number 3 starter and your cleanup hitter on the disabled list and you're still in first place, that's about all you can hope for.
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Today, Sunday May 17th, 2009, the New York Mets are in first place.
If you're just tuning into the season (which you had better not be - but if you are), after hearing that statement, you probably figure that Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine and Livan Hernandez have all pitched rather well. You probably think that the Mets' bullpen has been everything it wasn't in 2008. You probably think that Reyes and Murphy have gotten on base consistently and Wright, Delgado, Beltran and Church have been driving them in. You probably think that they have played well defensively.
Frankly, you're probably wrong.
Oh, not on every count, certainly not. Johan Santana has pitched even better than expected. Beltran and Wright have hit like All-Stars. But on the whole, the Mets journey to first place has not gone as planned.
Oliver Perez pitched his way onto the disabled list and Carlos Delgado is injured, as well. Jose Reyes has missed the last three games with a tight calf.
The secret for the Mets success has a lot to do with the success of the role players. Fernando Tatis, Gary Sheffield, Alex Cora and Ramon Castro have all been effective. Johnathan Niese and Nelson Figueroa have each contributed a quality start. And the regulars, even when less than expected (see Ryan Church) have been good enough.
And when you've got your number 3 starter and your cleanup hitter on the disabled list and you're still in first place, that's about all you can hope for.
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