Mets Game 19: Win Over Marlins

Mets 3 Marlins 2

Mets complete a sweep of the Marlins on Kirk Nieuwenhuis day.

Mets Game Notes

A previous engagement – my full-time job – precludes me from posting notes until after I watch the game tonight via the magic of DVR. In the meantime feel free to post your notes in the comments.

Next Mets Game

The Mets fly out to Colorado to play the Rockies in a three-game weekend series beginning Friday night at 8:40 p.m. EST. It looks like Chris Schwinden will come up from Buffalo to face Drew Pomeranz.

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.
  1. Joe April 26, 2012 at 5:26 pm
    Might want to share the day with Turner.

    Well, I did pre-season that Pelfrey should go ….

  2. wohjr April 26, 2012 at 5:30 pm
    I dont get the fuss about this giancarlo character… seems lost out there to me
    • Izzy April 27, 2012 at 8:49 am
      Like Ike, young guy in a terrible funk. don’t judge on 3 games. Or have you given up on Ike like the a-hole booers did yesterday?
      • wohjr April 27, 2012 at 1:04 pm
        settle down there son, I didn’t say anything about your bf
  3. joe bourgeois April 26, 2012 at 5:38 pm
    Turner definitely gets half the game ball. Great at-bat.
    Niese too.
  4. Bill April 26, 2012 at 6:36 pm
    Thank you C.B. Bucknor. Your reputation is well deserved.
  5. argonbunnies April 27, 2012 at 5:07 am
    Nolasco knows how to pitch the Mets: throw strikes with stuff that moves. Buehrle did the same, just got burned when Wright guessed right on a change-up. The Mets offense fouling off a lot of very hittable pitches. I don’t think it’s the result of being too patient and passive, I think we’re just fairly cold right now. To be 11-8 at this point is pretty awesome. If we keep missing fastballs down the middle, that’ll change in a hurry. But I have hope that our slugging will improve.

    Duda didn’t look awful, but also not as locked in as the previous game. We may have to wait some more. I’ve liked his approach all along, he just needs to do a better job squaring up the pitches he swings at.

    Ike‘s timing is completely off. I don’t think he can fix it without facing actual pitchers. How much are we going to let him hurt the team while he works on it? My impression is “as long as it takes”, unfortunately. The fact that it’s taking this long and that he’s so useless when cold bodes ill for his future, honestly. Everyone slumps, but good hitters don’t bat .120 for three weeks. I have no idea why he isn’t trying to wait on pitches and line them to left.

    Niese maintained great control and command of his curve without over-using it. He didn’t throw it back-to-back, and no one measured it all night. Great sequences. Good fastball location away, good enough in. Kept the cutter right at the knees. No walks. Cruising when removed, probably could have gone 9. I hope a goal this season is to build his stamina. If he’s still leaving games after 97 pitches in June, I’ll be bummed.

    Poor Pelf. Well, I was the dick who said, “Make him throw 95 even if his arm falls off,” so I guess I can’t complain. I just wish we had better back-up options. Hopefully luck is with Chris Young… Anyway, props to Pelf, I may not have liked his pitching, but always a good guy, and seems to be handling this well. I do wonder, though, whether this little tear might be old news and he should just pitch until it gets worse, in case it never does. But I guess that’d be bad for his career path… I’m assuming that’s what his agent had in mind when he hit Mike with the scare tactic of “pitching with a bad elbow could mess up your shoulder!” Uh, no, that only becomes a factor when the elbow actually hurts

  6. Angelo April 27, 2012 at 6:08 am
    Turner deserves the ball ,no question
  7. DaveSchneck April 27, 2012 at 8:00 am
    While concerns abound, sweeping away the Marlins and all 3 of their high priced players with a home grown starting 9 is sweet, really sweet. Godspeed to Big Pelf.
  8. Joe April 27, 2012 at 11:44 am
    Hairston looked barely able to avoid running into an out but I guess the first baseman already saw one “double play” calling & didn’t want to risk a second one.
    • jerseymet April 27, 2012 at 1:01 pm
      Hairston’s run to first base was odd.
  9. Lee April 27, 2012 at 1:11 pm
    Trade Torres for a pitcher to replace Pelfrey? Why would you mess with a rookie and put him out of position? Anyone remember when Jose Reyes played 2nd?
    • Joe April 27, 2012 at 1:39 pm
      What sort of starting pitcher are you going to get for Torres?
      • Lee April 27, 2012 at 2:00 pm
        I know – middle of the road, at best. But who do they have to replace Pelfrey now? I really just don’t want Torres in center. Not now. With all due respect to him.
        • Joe April 27, 2012 at 2:24 pm
          Middle of the road? Good luck with that. You would get some reclaimation project. More likely, he is worth maybe an average middle reliever. I share your concern. Not sure though if you’d get someone better than Schwinden.
        • DaveSchneck April 27, 2012 at 9:06 pm
          Lee,
          No disrespect to you or Mr. Torres, but the Mets could not get a pitcher of Schwinden’s caliber for him at this point in the season.