The Mets (25-23) will try to continue their recent success on the road tonight, as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers(19-28) at Miller Park. Johan Santana (4-2, 3.41) gets the ball for the Mets and he’ll be faced by Yovani Gallardo (4-2, 3.20).
UPDATE: Lineups have been posted:
1.). Reyes (SS)
2.) Cora (2B)
3.) Bay (LF)
4.) Davis (1B)
5.) Wright (3B)
6.) Pagan (CF)
7.) Barajas (C)
8.) Francoeur (RF)
9.) Santana (P)
Discuss…
Yankees fans are notorious for proclaiming if and how a player has “earned his Yankees stripes.” It’s a bit ridiculous and it can get incredibly annoying to have a conversation with someone who insists a player on the level of Mark Texeiria wasn’t REALLY a Yankee until [insert appropriate Yankeeography episode title here] happened.
But… I get it. They want to feel like a guy is worthy of their support. They want everyone to know that they won’t blindly accept a player just because he is drawing a hefty paycheck from Yankee Baseball Industries & Merchandising Supply Co, Ltd.
Newsday’s David Lennon makes the case that Citi Field had its moment of Mets fan acceptance this past week, as the Mets steamrolled the Yankees and the Phillies:
I think it is fair to say, though, that the Mets new park has established its identity. Fans were rightfully upset last year when they noticed that the place looked nice and it had great food and all, but it just didn’t seem like home. The franchise did some improvements to address that, such as the Mets Hall of Fame and the Hodges and Stengel entrance and the banners depicting former Mets on the perimeter. [Citi Field finds its identity]
It’s an interesting theory and it makes perfect sense. Whether you think the Mets are now on their way to the postseason or not, you won’t forget this past week for a long time.
Whether you will now forget all of the negativity that has surrounded Citi Field up to this point is another story. But it seems like the Mets may have settled into their new home.
The Mets are on top of the world and ahead of the Nats… Time for some links:
MyMetsJournal – Joe Petruccio creates some fantastic artwork out of Gary Cohen’s fantastically forced “goose egg sweep” comment.
MetsMerized – Jessup gives a State of the Union-type rundown of the Mets. Translation: it’s time to bring in Oswalt.
213 Miles From Shea – Did you know that two of the top three current AL home run leaders were dealt by the Mets in the same 2004 trade? That’s some random trivia!
NY Daily News – Bill Price tries to explain the Mets recent hot streak and why they are so good at Citi Field.
Rotoworld – Aaron Gleeman reports that Carlos Beltran will be 6-8 weeks away from returning… once he resumes baseball activities, that is.
OnTheBlack – Kerel Cooper has a video rundown on who’s hot… and who’s not.
And as my JV basketball coach used to say, “You’re never as good as you think you are, but you’re never as bad as you think you are.”
Run for cover! Do not leave your home! At any moment, frogs and toads are certain to fall from a blue and orange-tinged sky, signifying the rapture! Cataclysm is near!
Or maybe the Mets shutting out the Phillies in three straight is a completely normal event, having nothing to do with the apocalypse. Perhaps it was a staged episode for the return of the Twilight Zone.
Whatever it is, it ain’t normal. But I’ll take it. And revel in it.
Mike Pelfrey was brilliant (again), shutting out the Phillies through seven frames, allowing only three hits. The five walks were too many, but no baserunners scored, so we’ll glaze over them.
I find it funny — now — that one of the questions posed to me by Bill Baer at Crashburn Alley prior to the series was “How much patience do the Mets have with Jose Reyes? He’s currently sporting a .550 OPS.”. Well, I think it’s safe to say that those questions won’t be coming up again. Reyes went 3-for-4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Further, he was 8-for-13 with 5 RBI and 5 runs scored in the series, sparking the club from the leadoff spot (note: Reyes was NOT batting third).
Angel Pagan went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, AGAIN. Seems like he goes 2-for-4 with a stolen base every game, doesn’t it?
Cole Hamels didn’t pitch poorly — allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk through 6 1/3 — but the Phillies hitters are in a team-wide, massive funk. The question is: did this three-game sweep say more about the Mets or the Phillies? Meaning, were the Mets pitchers really that spectacular, or are the Phillies hitters in that horrendous a cold streak? Is it a combination of both?
After winning the Yankees series and pasting the Phillies in three straight, the Mets will go into Milwaukee to face a struggling Brewers club. You’ve got to believe that confidence alone will help the Mets to another series win this weekend (don’t even start with the “jinx” thing — if I have that kind of power I’ll use it for something like world peace). A little confidence can go a long way, and in the case of the Mets, it just might jettison them to the top of the NL East come Memorial Day.
At 19-9, the Mets have the best home record in MLB. At 6-14, they have the third-worst road record in MLB. Again I mention the 1987 Minnesota Twins. Look it up.
During the rain delay, SNY showed the press conference announcing the purchase of the Mets by Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon for $21M. This year, the Mets are paying Johan Santana $21M. How times have changed, eh?
The Mets move on to Milwaukee to face the Brewers on Friday night. Johan Santana faces Yovani Gallardo. Game time is 8:10 PM.
