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June 7, 2009 Mets 2009 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 55: Win Over Nationals

Mets 7 Nationals 0

The Mets scored five runs before Livan Hernandez threw a pitch, and Livan coasted through the next 7 innings, shutting out the Nats and allowing only four hits and an uncharacteristic four walks en route to his fifth win.

Nats starter Craig Stammen stammered through the initial inning, allowing three hits, walking two, and uncorking a wild pitch to give the Mets a comfy five-spot. From there the Nats bats and defense rolled over, continuing to play uninspired, sloppy baseball, as the Mets stepped on their necks.

Notes

David Wright, Danny Murphy, and Ryan Church had two hits apiece, and all three scored a run. Church ripped a double in his first at-bat since coming off the DL.

Fernando Martinez also lashed a double in the first inning, driving in Alex Cora with the game’s first run.

Wright is now hitting .345, and has passed Carlos Beltran (.342). Beltran, though, was 0-for-7 just prior to the stomach bug, and is swinging the bat well, so we may see the two of them neck and neck for the batting title. There’s just the matter of Miguel Tejada, who is leading the NL at .351.

Next Mets Game

The Mets have a day off on Monday, then come home to host the Phillies on Tuesday. Johan Santana goes for his eighth win against J.A. Happ. First pitch to be released at 7:10 PM.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Mark June 7, 2009 at 4:30 pm
    Livan getting run support is huge.
  2. Eli From Brooklyn June 7, 2009 at 4:32 pm
    Not one error from the Mets while Livan is on the mound… the whole season!
  3. upson June 7, 2009 at 4:49 pm
    on the other hand, two blown saves for Livan already. Could have been 7-1. However, the fun part of the schedule is over. His next 6 starts are against Yankees, Orioles, Cardinals, Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers. I’m curious to see how he does against good teams. Although, I have much more confidence in him than Redding. Too bad we lost track of Ollie a while ago.

    Btw, what do you guys think of using Feliciano, Parnell and Frankie to get the last 6 outs?

  4. mic June 7, 2009 at 6:08 pm
    I was going to post at 12.00 when i saw that JM had pencilled in a major league line up!!

    – F-Mart and Church resembled a ML outfield and with CB probably are as athletic an OF as we could put on the field.

    – Valdes is a liability on OF, but I’d rather see him there than Cora who i think is an upgrade over Castillo…(he who Omar cant trade).
    If Reyes comes back I’d like to see Cora as the primary 2nd baseman.

    – I just pointed out the punchless offense and Church and F-mart rope doubles in the first inning.

    –

  5. sincekindergarten June 7, 2009 at 6:55 pm
    Upson, I have more confidence in Livan than in, say, John Maine against the Yankees. The Mets’ site says that Maine will make his next scheduled start, which will come on Friday at Yankee Stadium–death for fly-ball pitchers. Maine is a fly-ball pitcher . . .
  6. joejanish June 7, 2009 at 7:05 pm
    Upson, I guess Jerry wanted to get the relievers some work with the off-day tomorrow. Personally I’d have preferred to give them the day off, let them come in strong for Philly. You know all of them are going to see action in at least two if not all three games.

    Mic, what’s the fascination with Cora? He’s a bench player. If you play him every day, you’ll see that AVG and OBP reduce dramatically. Castillo may be in a mini-slump, but his OBP is still at .380 and he helps wear out starting pitchers. And his defense this year has been stellar. History says Cora will wilt, and history also says no matter what, Castillo will get on base more often than most. He’s ideal as a fill-in for leadoff while Reyes is on the mend.

  7. isuzudude June 7, 2009 at 7:25 pm
    Echoing Joe’s comments, I would have also opted to keep Feliciano/Parnell/Krod out of today’s blowout, and instead gone perhaps an inning each with Stokes and Green. But, with the broken record still intact (is that an oxymoron?), Jerry keeps marching the same relievers to the mound anytime there’s a lead, regardless of how significant that lead is. Some people may not see it as any big deal now, what with a day off tomorrow, but there’s a reason why this team’s bullpen has all but disappeared in the final month of the season the last 2 years. It’s because of instances like today.

    And, piggybacking Joe’s confusion: Mic, what gives with your animosity towards Luis Castillo? He’s been everything the Mets could have asked out of him this year – very good defense, excellent OBP, has walked twice as much as he’s struck out – and yet you want him and his $25-mil contract on the bench? In lieu, no less, for a career backup IF in Cora who’s playing hurt with a torn thumb ligament, which prohibits his ability to play as much as you’re asking for. And if you’re advocating for a Castillo trade (since I know you love Ruben Tejada so much), the only way to keep his trade value high is to keep playing him so other teams are encouraged to deal for him because of his durability and longterm production. If you bench him he loses all the value he’s gained over the first two months of the season.

    Your last sentence in your comment pretty much sums up how consistently contradictory you are – so much so that even you’re noticing it.

    Although I do agree: an everyday OF of FMart-Beltran-Church is very athletic and defensively sound. Sounds like a good foundation to build around for 2010.

  8. mic June 7, 2009 at 10:09 pm
    i understand your castillo-love but i dont quite share it. No he is not Matsui or kepp, But i dont think he will ever be confused at this stage of his career with O-dog. Castillo as a slap happy singles hitter….something we often get too much of.

    Now if he led off more then we might have the player we can both be comfortable with. JM said Cora will get 4 games/week. But i think Cora is becoming the Joe Mac of this team and a leader. His loss to the team was huge and the effect instantaneous.