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August 4, 2009 Mets Hitting Joe Janish

Mets Prepare for Pineiro

pitching-machineSince joining the St. Louis Cardinals, Joel Pineiro has been a thorn in the Mets’ side, most recently channeling Christy Mathewson when he faced the orange and blue.

In two starts covering 17 innings this year, Pineiro has a 1.04 ERA vs. the Mets, allowing only 8 hits and a .151 batting average.

Last year, the Mets pounded him for 21 hits in 9 innings, but the Cards won both contests.

However, tonight it’s going to be different. Jerry Manuel — always looking for ways to exploit technology to get an edge on the competition — has come up with a way to prepare for Pineiro’s vaunted sinkerball. Manuel told reporters prior to the game that the pitching machine was adjusted in such a manner that it was now throwing sinkers (previously, if you remember, it was set to throw curveballs).

So no worries …. after facing the sinkers from “Iron Mike”, Pineiro should be no problem at all.

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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. David W. August 4, 2009 at 5:48 pm
    I’m usually not depressed until after the game begins. A few more posts like this and I’ll start counting the days until pitchers and catchers report to St. Lucie.