Fish Take a Long Walk-Off Snakes', Nats' Piers

In the words of John Rambo in First Blood Pt. II, Philly, we're coming to get YOU.



For the second game in a row, the Marlins won in walk-off fashion off a solid closer.

Sunday afternoon, the Fish beat Arizona's Brandon Lyon with a Hanley Ramirez homer, Jeremy Hermida double, and a Jorge Cantu walk-off single.

Monday night, Hanley hit another deep blast off the Nationals' John Rauch to send the game to extras. After a shaky 10th from Kevin Gregg, Josh Willingham hit the first pitch he saw from Rauch over the scoreboard in left field. Willingham's second homer of the night secured another walk-off victory for the Marlins.

Is it great news that the Marlins needed extra inning theatrics to beat the anemic Nationals? No. But all that clutchiness and tenacity sure is fun to watch.

With the latest win, the Marlins moved within a half game of the Phillies, who had the night off.

Mark Hendrickson takes the hill for the Fish tomorrow night, which most likely means we'll need more ninth inning magic.

Mets Earn Split of Weekend Series

In the final Subway Series game ever at Shea, The Mets defeated the Yankees by a score of 3-1 this afternoon. The good Ollie showed up today as he pitched a gem giving up just one run on a solo home run by Second Baseman Wilson Betemit, which was one of three hits he gave up, while striking out eight, and walking none, in seven innings of work.

The Mets who have been struggling the most this season (Castillo, Delgado, and Perez), showed signs of coming out of their slumps during the Yankees series this weekend. As I mentioned in my last post, Luis Castillo scored a career best five runs in Friday's day portion of the double header, and of course Delgado had those 9 RBI's. After Andy Pettite got a 3-2 win yesterday, which was helped by another base running blunder by Jose Reyes as he got picked off by Pettite as the tying run at 2nd with Wright at the plate in the bottom of the 5th, Delgado got back on the attack today, as he hit his 14th home run of the season, and 3rd of the series against the Yankees. Castillo, on the other hand, went 3 for 5 today with 3 singles.

Perez's good start today might not only be attributed to the fact that the Yankees were in town, as he always pitches well against the Yankees, but not against anyone else. It also might be attributed to new Pitching Coach Dan Warthen changing his delivery a little bit as well as changing his position on the rubber. Let's see if this Perez shows up in his next start against the Phillies.

As the Mets take the final Subway Series of 2008 four games to two by winning 3 at Yankee Stadium and once at Shea, they head out on a grueling eight game road trip against two of the NL's best teams in St. Louis and Philadelphia before returning home to face the Giants.

At the end of this trip, we should have an idea if Manager Jerry Manuel has made enough of a difference to earn himself the opportunity to shed the "interim" manager tag.

Phillies Insider: Goodbye, Brett Myers

Brett Myers was supposed to be the ace of the staff.

Instead, he is stinkin' up the joint... every single time he takes the rubber.

Brett Myers is almost single-handily destroying the Phillies.

His most recent outing was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Myers lasted two-plus innings and gave up five runs Friday night against the Texas Rangers. It was the shortest outing of his career.

Myers' future with the team will be determined on Monday, when the Phillies have an off day before playing the Braves in Atlanta.

Here's one vote for getting rid of Myers... because what other options are there?

Yes, the bullpen is a possibility, but why ruin a good thing? There's been talk of moving Chad Durbin into the starting rotation. That doesn't work. Durbin has been spectacular this season, and while he has experience as a starter, he is 19-33 with an ERA approaching 6.00. The Phillies absolutely cannot replace Myers with Durbin.

The Phillies could send a guy like Clay Condrey (their long reliever) to the minors in order to make room for Myers. I'm sure Myers would be happy about the move, since he was never thrilled about moving back into the starting rotation after the Phillies acquired Brad Lidge in the offseason. Myers would embrace the role of possibly pitching two, three, four straight days. That's why he enjoyed being a closer.

It still isn't going to work.

Myers, historically, is a mental mess. You simply cannot trust what he's going to. Moving him into the bullpen won't guarantee instant success.

The other half of Myers' problem is mechanics. Thus, sending him to the minor leagues or putting him on the mysterious 15-day disabled list is likely the option the team will take. This will allow him to work on whatever issues he's having through the All-Star break. And maybe -- just maybe -- he'll return with a better idea of how to get people out.

Those options.... shouldn't be options.

Brett Myers should be released outright. He should never pitch in a Phillies uniform again.

Listen, Phillies fans loved what Myers did last season. He played the role of closer and did a good job. He wasn't great, but he was good enough. Fans will always remember him throwing his glove high in the air after striking out Willy Mo Pena to clinch the NL East Division title.

But Myers has run his course in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, the guy has zero trade value. I'm sure some teams are looking for a legitimate closer, and I still think Myers can fill that role consistently. However, the struggles of Myers are well-documented. Teams aren't going to trade for a guy who leads the league in gopher balls and first-inning runs allows and has one of the worst ERAs in baseball among qualified starters.

Charlie Manuel said this weekend, after Myers' awful start against the Texas Rangers, that the team needed Myers and Cole Hamels to win 16-20 games in order for it to be successful. Hamels is pulling his weight.... Myers is just gaining weight... and pulling the team down.

Brett Myers will go down as one of the greatest disappointments in Phillies history.

It's time to say goodbye.

Can Things Get Any More Uggla?

Of the severe rash of injuries the Marlins have dealt with all season, this one hurts the most.

MLB home run leader Dan Uggla sprained his ankle last night, after stopping short while legging out a double. X-rays were negative, but the slugging second baseman will miss at least a week in an important stretch for the Fish.

In addition to being the Marlins' best hitter this season, Uggla is the heart of the team and plays a solid second base. With Uggla out of the middle of the batting order, this lineup is severely de-clawed. Considering that situational hitting is not this team's strong suit, removing a huge slugger of Uggla's caliber will likely make this offense anemic.

The rest of the team will need to pick up the slack, including Josh Willingham, who isn't up to full speed after returning last week. Robert Andino will replace Uggla at second, but will most likely be an automatic out at the bottom of the order (a 7-8-9 of Andino, Treanor, and the pitcher's spot is an opposing pitcher's wet dream).

So the bottom line is, we're probably gonna suck for a while until Danny gets back.

Godspeed, Dan Uggla.

The Elusive .500

After another dominating performance from Jair Jurrjens on Friday, The Braves were in great position to get back to .500 on the season in the first game of 2008's second half. Alas, for the 4th consecutive time, they couldn't win when trying to even their record.

Even with Tim Hudson going against AAAA pitcher, John Parrish, the Bravos couldn't deliver. Hudson seems to pitch better when his offense doesn't back him up. Today, the Braves scored 5 runs for Tim, but Hudson had one of his worst performances; giving up 6 ER in 5 innings. (Of course, the Jays also owe a thank you card to Bobby Cox for allowing them to tee off on Manny Acosta in the 8th inning.)

One positive that the Braves have exhibited in many of their losses for the last two weeks is cutting into a lot of 3,4, and 5 run deficits. So far, this "feistiness" has ended up in only one win--a comeback over the Mariners against Miguel Batista, possibly the worst closer in baseball. One of these days, if the Braves can actually come all the way back, it could be a huge momentum boost. I think Braves fans would settle for just getting back to .500, before worrying about "big mo." If The Braves win Sunday's finale against Toronto, their next chance to get there would be against the Phils in the biggest series of the season to this point.

Although the division is definitely down right now, the Braves are going to have to win more than half their games to get back to October. I see three things the Braves absolutely NEED in order to turn this around for the 2nd half.

Set-up Man: For two months, Manny Acosta and Blaine Boyer were a solid top 2 guys in the bullpen, and in the near future, both may be able to maintain that for a full season. It's become obvious in recent weeks, however, that Manny and Blaine are tiring. At the least, both need some rest, which to Bobby Cox would mean only pitching one inning a game instead of two. What it really means is only pitching 3-4 innings a week and NOT putting in multi-inning appearances. Apparently, the first thing to go in a great manager is their ability to logically distribute innings within the bullpen.

One pitcher that the Braves can trust in the 8th inning would improve the bullpen, and every Braves fan's mental health. The best thing is that Atlanta might not even have to make a trade to get one. All Frank Wren may need to do is make a call to Richmond and Bring back Phil Stockman...again. Here's the catch, though, Cox would actually have to pitch him, you know...give him the ball. Here's all Stockman's done in his Pro baseball career with the Atlanta organization: 97 IP, 12 (12!!!!) Earned Runs, 113 K. That includes a 0.00 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 7.1 major league innings. Think he might deserve a fair shot? Well, now we just have to convince Bobby.

Outfield Help: The Braves outfield is near the bottom of the Majors in every offensive statistic, and has only gotten worse the last few weeks with Mark Kotsay and Matt Diaz on the DL.

Even pre-season, the OF didn't look like the best, but considering Francoeur's improvement in '07 and the ridiculous hitting abilities Diaz had shown in two seasons splitting time, it certainly was not anything to bemoan. Kotsay looked like the weak link then. As it turns out, Mark was the best of the three before his back flared up again.

Getting Kotsay back soon will help a ton, but to truly shore up the OF problems, a trade will probably be in order. Adam Dunn is the most intriguing, even if not the most likely, of the many possibilities.

Shorten the DL: I'm a believer in the theory that over the course of a baseball season, more than any other sport, luck will even out. The first half of this season was nothing but bad luck. In the last week and a half, Yunel Escobar has hurt himself sliding into home plate late in a game with a 9-1 deficit and diving back to first base to avoid a double play.

Then there's the fact that 3/5 of the projected rotation is on the DL, with at least one of them--and possibly all three-- not pitching this season.

Then There's Peter Moylan... Then there's Rafael Soriano...

Then there's Chipper's quad. Anyone that remotely follows the Braves knows this: There in no way that the Braves go to the playoffs if Chipper Jones does not get healthy enough to play every day. That's just the way it is. He changes the offense completely when he's in the 3-hole. Replace him with Ruben Gotay, and .500 would become the end instead of the means.

Marlins Desperate for Momentum

In my last post, I detailed the Marlins' opportunity to look like contenders on their current homestand. Eager to prove my point, the Fish proceeded to get swept by the Tampa Bay Rays.

It was a pretty painful series to watch, as the Marlins played probably their worst ball all year. All the classic symptoms of this year's team were revealed in the Rays series, including shoddy defense, short and poor outings from starting pitchers, a truly unreliable bullpen, and streaky hitting. In Tuesday's opener, the Fish wasted a great start from Scott Olsen, as the bullpen would piss away the game, walking in two runs with the bases loaded. On Wednesday, rookie Ryan Tucker got bruised and refused like he didn't have Just For Men Gel, getting torched for 7 runs in 4 innings. Reliever Eulogio de la Cruz, called up from Triple-A the day before, allowed 5 runs without recording a single out, clearly an effort to make his ERA jump higher than his age. Then in Thursday's finale, Matt Garza threw a no-hitter through 6 innings, until SS1a Hanley Ramirez hit a home run to center field to break it up. The only problem was that Marky Mark Hendrickson started the game, which usually means that the team will be down between 4-6 runs by the time he leaves the game in the 5th. Disaster. Sweep.

So no big deal, right? Move on. Oh wait, we get to face Brandon Webb and Dan Haren in the next series. That's okay. The Fish swept a red-hot Dbacks team earlier in the year, beating both Webb and Haren in that series. The Marlins won last night's opener against Micah Owings, getting another awesome outing from Ricky "I Don't Chew, I Don't Dip, and I Don't Smoke" Nolasco. Tonight Andrew Miller takes the hill against Webb, with Superpimp Scotty Olsen going tomorrow against Haren. It'd be nice to win this series with Washington coming to town, so the Fish can finish strong before heading out on a long west coast road trip.

Some ideas and ramblings:

- This team will not contend long-term if Hendrickson remains in the rotation. He's a disaster and he has to go. I don't hate him as a long-relief/mop-up guy, that's what he's suited to. He can get a few guys out for two or three innings, but that's all he's got. Chris Volstad, where art thou?

- Nolasco is our bona fide ace. No question about it. Right now, he's the only guy we can consistently expect to last beyond the 6th inning. Olsen is pitching very well right now, and Miller is really starting to come around. If they can get Hendrickson out of there and plug in Volstad, this can be a respectable rotation by the end of July.

- Mike Jacobs sucks. There, I said it. He hits a 1- or 2-run homer every 4 or 5 games, and does nothing in between. Talk about a rally killer. He sucks defensively at first base, which is an accomplishment unto itself. I would love to trade him, but I doubt we'd get much more than a few below-average minor league arms. But it's possible that some team in need of a slugging DH could overlook his disastrous .264 OBP this season. That's right, 11 walks in 236 ABs, with 60 Ks.

- 3B Dallas McPherson has tied a PCL record with 7 straight games with a homer in Triple-A Albuquerque. He has 28 blasts on the season. Calling up D-Mac to play third and moving Cantu over to 1B is sounding pretty good right now...

- How bad is our bullpen right now? There's not one guy back there that I'd be confident giving the ball to with a small lead. A big part of this is overwork. Our pen is 5th in the Majors with 273 innings pitched. When our starters routinely get derailed in the 4th, it's a struggle to finish the game. Hopefully these guys can come back strong after the All-Star break and start shutting people down again.

Also, if you're interested in Marlins posts that are funnier than mine, and the best Photoshops this side of Tokyo, check out Adam Smoot at Bright Orange Seats. Here's a sample of some of his work - please to enjoy in good-natured fun:

Beat Down In the Bronx; Scalped At Shea

In my last post, I mentioned how the acquisition of Andy Phillips might spell a platoon situation at First Base with Carlos Delgado. Well in the first game of yesterday's day night double header, Delgado made sure his made his case to keep his job on a permanent basis. I also mentioned how the acquisition of Trot Nixon enabled Damion Easley to move back to the infield, and into a possible platoon situation at Second Base with Luis Castillo. Like Delgado, Castillo too made a case to stay at second base permanently during the first game of the double header.


Delgado set a Mets record with nine RBIs and Castillo scored a career-best five runs in a 15-6 rout."I got lucky," Delgado said. "Every time I came up it seems like they had a lot of guys on base so I got some good pitches to hit and I was able to drive them."

Delgado hit a two-run double off Edwar Ramirez in the fifth inning and his 12th career grand slam in the sixth, a drive against Ross Ohlendorf that landed in one of the last rows of bleachers in right-center. Delgado added a three-run homer in the eighth off LaTroy Hawkins a drive into a corridor beyond the right-field wall.


Delgado's nine RBIs were one better than Dave Kingman's total for the Mets in an 11-0 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976. Delgado's 44th multi-homer game gave him 444 home runs for his career, breaking a tie with Kingman for 34th on the major league career list. Delgado, who turned 36 on Wednesday, entered the game with just 11 homers and 35 RBIs this season.

(Taken from espn.com)

He previously hit a home run off the bottom of the left-field foul pole in the second of the Mets' two victories in the Bronx last month, but it was mistakenly ruled a foul ball by umpires. However, there were no such problems with either of his drives Friday, and the Mets are hoping the big game was enough to get the aging slugger back on track.


"When he gets hot, he gets kind of stupid hot where he can put a team on his shoulders and carry them for a week or two at a time," said David Wright, who tied a career high with four hits. "He's got the ability to be one of the best run producers, RBI machines, in the league when he swings the bat the way he's capable of." Said Manager Jerry Manuel: "To have this type of game on this type of stage is very impressive"

Carlos Beltran also had a hand in the route in game 1, as he hit a two-run homer and scored four runs as the Mets completed their first three-game winning streak and series sweep at Yankee Stadium.

Game 2 was a completely different story for the Mets, as Starter Pedro Martinez lasted only 5 and 2/3 innings giving up six hits, and six runs, all of which were earned, while walking five, and striking out four, to balloon his ERA to 7.12 on the season.


"I'm just not doing my job and that's something to worry about. It's time for me for getting better, not getting worse. I've got to make some adjustments," Martinez said. "The health is there. It's not physically; it's got to be mechanically."

Sidney Ponson pitched a gem in his return to the Yankees, silencing Carlos Delgado, who had a huge first game and the rest of the Mets en route to a 9-0 victory. Ponson pitched six scoreless innings while giving up five hits, walking four, and striking out four. He pitched briefly for the Yankees in 2006.

Yankee Second Baseman Robinson Cano homered and drove in three runs. Shortstop Derek Jeter extended his season-high hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI double off the center-field fence.

"You have to be able to respond," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. His team did just that.

Today, for the FOX Baseball Game of the Week in the New York area, Andy Pettite seeks his 9th win of the season for the Yankees, and Johan Santana goes for the Mets seeking his 8th win.

Mets Salvage Finale Against Mariners

The Seattle series was supposed to shoot the Mets back into serious contention in the NL East after finishing a west coast trip with a 4-2 record.

However, after losing the first game 5-2 thanks to a grand slam by the pitcher Felix Hernandez, which was given up by Mets ace Johan Santana, an 11-0 obliteration in the middle game, and a series salvaging 8-2 victory this evening, the Mets still find themselves 3.5 games behind Philadelphia pending the outcome of their game tonight versus Oakland.

In the first game of the series, the Mets got the tying run up in the ninth inning with one out in the person of Carlos Delgado. However, he struck out, as did Damion Easley to end the ballgame. In the second game, the offense took the night off, and Oliver Perez got lit up giving up six runs (5 earned) and seven hits, while striking out three and walking one, en route to the 11-0 loss.

Tonight, after sitting a game, David Wright propelled the Mets to victory with two home runs in two consecutive innings heading into a day night doubleheader Friday against the Yankees.

Going into the final 2008 Subway Series, the Mets face two main questions for the purpose of this post. The first, what to about Oliver Perez, who this season despite showing blips of promise, is 5-5 with a 5.29 E.R.A. After last night's blowout, Jerry Manuel said: "I'm definitely concerned about his struggles right now and we're going to have to address it at some time. We'll have to seriously address it."Perez could skip a turn or be dropped from the rotation altogether, but Manuel declined to elaborate on the team's plans.

The second, what to do to jump start Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo. The Mets made their first attempt at trying to address the Delgado situation by claiming first baseman Andy Phillips off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. After some time, he may platoon with Delgado.

As for Castillo, the acquisition of Trot Nixon has allowed Damion Easley to return to the infield. After giving the Mets a win in Anaheim, Easley was rewarded by Manuel when he was chosen to start the next day. If Castillo, who is hitting just .254 with 3 homers and 25 RBI's, continues to struggle, he too could find himself in a platoon situation; with Easley.

Friday night's first game is the makeup of a rain out at Yankee Stadium earlier this season. Mike Pelfrey goes for his 5th win of the season against Dan Giese. The second game pits Pedro Martinez against Sidney Ponson.

The Mets took the first two against the Yankees this season in arguably their two best games of the year. We'll see if they continue that success against one of the few teams against which they've had success this season.

Stay tuned

Phillies Insider: The Bats Have Gone Silent!

When will it end?

The Phillies lost their sixth-straight game Tuesday night against the Oakland A's, 5-2.

Jamie Moyer was cruising with a one-run lead before Emil Brown hit a dead-center three-run homer, giving the A's a 3-1 lead. That happened a half inning after Carlos Ruiz grounded into a bases-loaded, inning-ending double play.

This is what happens when your team struggles.

The biggest concern is the Phillies' inability to score runs and hit quality pitching, whether it's against Joe Saunders, Jon Lester or Ervin Santana. Heck, even Joe Blanton, who entered play with a 3-10 record, shut down the Phillies Tuesday night.

Right now, there isn't one player that is hitting well. Chase Utley is really hurting the team. In my last post, I talked about Chase's struggles, but was confident he'd snap out of it ASAP. Now that he's 1-for-29, it's time to start head scratching.

When Chase is hitting well, the Phillies are scoring runs. It puts less pressure on guys like Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino to get on base. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell do not feel the burden of carrying the team if Chase isn't struggling.

Right now, the Phillies aren't seeing the ball well at the plate and it's a collective problem.

I believe the Phillies are missing Aaron Rowand now more than ever before. Rowand was the guy who could pick up Howard and Burrell and drive in that runner in scoring position with two out. He's a .300 hitter and a clutch performer and, not to mention, a leader in the clubhouse.

Pedro Feliz and Geoff Jenkins were supposed to be the guys to replace Rowand's bat. Jenkins hasn't had a hit since the JFK assassination and Feliz swings at anything that looks fast. Both of these guys are borderline MLB players, in my book.

My point is this: The Phillies offense isn't as good as it was last year.

There are too many strikeouts. Too many guys look first-pitch fastball and cannot adjust to sliders in the dirt, sinkers or filthy curveballs.

Too. Many. Holes.

The Phillies, we are made to believe, are in search of a top-flight starting pitcher. That's great. I hope, for once, the team will be aggressive and go after an Erik Bedard or C.C. Sabathia.

Just don't forget the starting lineup. It's becoming a pretty big problem.

Mets Sign 18th Overall Pick Davis

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Mets have agreed to terms with their first pick of the first round, power hitting first baseman Ike Davis of Arizona State. It is believed Davis, the son of former Yankees reliever Ron Davis, received in the range of $1.5 million. The deal is pending a physical. Davis was the 18th pick overall and is expected to be assigned to New York's Class A Brooklyn Cyclones. Davis, a junior, batted .385 with 16 home runs and 76 RBIs for the Sun Devils this year. He also posted a .742 slugging percentage and .457 on-base percentage.

The Mets had already signed their other first round draft pick, shortstop Reese Havens of the University of South Carolina, for $1.419 million. Havens was the 22nd pick of the draft.

(Story taken from: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/06/24/heyman.metspick/)

Crunch Time for Marlins

After a 4-5 road trip out to the west coast, the Marlins come home to find themselves in a unique position. The Fish are just one game out of first place in the division and have the opportunity to seize control on this homestand.

First, the biggest news is the return of Josh Willingham, who, prior to being placed on the DL, was hitting a ridiculous .341/.406/.637 with 6 homers and 16 RBI in the month of April. The Hammer missed the entire month of May and most of June with a strained back, but will make his return at Joe Robbie Stadium tonight against the Rays. Willingham is one of the elite cleanup hitters in the game and his return will be a tremendous boost to the team, even if he takes a few weeks to readjust to Major League pitching.

In the next week, the Marlins will face the Rays, Dbacks, and Nationals, a stretch that could mean a lot for this season's hopes. If the Fish can have a winning homestand and seize first place heading into the All-Star break, it could set the tone for a playoff run in the second half. Further, it could mean the stingy front office may become very active in the trade market, going after the pitching help this team needs. If they fizzle at home, however, it may set up a second-half slide that takes them out of contention.

These aren't your daddy's Devil Rays, as Tampa Bay comes in as one of the best teams in the AL. The Rays took two of three in last week's series in Tampa, but they're just as good of a team on the road. The pitching matchups certainly favor the Rays, with an edge to the Fish in Olsen/Sonnanstine, and the edge to Tampa in Tucker/Shields and Marky Mark Hendrickson/Garza. I look for the teams to split the first two games, and then the Fish to seize the finale in a slugfest.

Arizona has cooled off considerably from the beginning of the season, when they were the hottest team in baseball. However, back in May, the Fish swept the Dbacks, so maybe they should get hot again before visiting. The Fish will likely catch Webb and Haren in this series, so it will be a tough one. But we beat them both last month, so who knows. Winning two out of three isn't out of the question.

I can't see why the Marlins won't win the series against Washington, so that should create some momentum as they head out west again for a long road trip ending at the All-Star break. The Fish have a pair of four-game tilts in Colorado and LA, with a three-game series against San Diego in the middle. These three NL West teams are on the ropes, so to speak, so a successful road trip to end the first half could be a huge boost for the Fish.

The return of the Hammer should be a boost in both offense and morale for the Marlins, who can prove what they are made of on this week's homestand.

Mets Quieted By The Bat Of Felix Hernandez

You heard me right. The Mets were quieted by the bat of Felix Hernandez in their return to Shea from a West Coast trip. Hernandez became the first American League pitcher since 1971 to hit a grand slam when he connected off of Mets Starter Johan Santana. With two outs in the second inning, Hernandez took Santana's first pitch and drove an opposite-field home run over the right-center fence to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.

However, euphoria turned into depression for Hernandez, as he sprained his left ankle while trying to cover home plate on a wild pitch that slipped past Catcher Jeff Clement, and scored Carlos Beltran to cut the deficit to 5-1. (Seattle also scored on a Jose Lopez single to left that scored Willie Bloomquist) Hernandez left the game one out short of qualifying for a win and had to be helped to the dugout by team trainers.

After a Carlos Beltran single to center that scored Luis Castillo, and made the score 5-2, the Mets got the tying run up in the ninth inning with one out in the person of Carlos Delgado. However, he struck out, as did Damion Easley to end the ballgame.

So much for the home stand getting off to a great start.

After 4-2 Road Trip, Mets Head Home To Face Seattle

After a long road trip to Anaheim and Colorado in which the Mets went 4-2, and saw a change in regime, they head home to face Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners tonight at Shea. Johan Santana goes for NY, looking for his 8th win of the season, while Hernandez looks for his 7th win for the struggling Mariners, who come in with a major league worst 26-49 record.

The Mets have climbed back to .500 with a 37-37 record, and find themselves only 3.5 games behind NL East leading Philadelphia. By the end of the Seattle series, the Mets may find themselves within arm's reach of the NL East lead, heading into this weekend's final Subway Series at Shea against the Yankees. We shall see what happens.

Get in Line for the Bandwagon

Don't look now, actually do. Look at the NL East standings. The Atlanta Braves are 4 games behind the division lead. Granted they also are in 4th place, but who would've guessed coming off the back to back sweeps (which put the Bravos at 7.5 out) that it would only take 10 games to get back to within 4. It would have been feasible with a 10-0 run, but Atlanta only went 6-4.

This sudden "turn around" has given hope to Braves fans and confirmed something that I've thought was possible: Everyone else is overrated. I hadn't said it yet, because... well, I knew i'd sound like the biggest homer ever, and you don't want to sound like a homer when the website you write for is part of the "No Bias Network." I figured I'd be breaking company policy. Well, that and the fact that I didn't have any statistical proof; only a gut feeling. Then, while I was looking at ESPN.com's standings page, I noticed something in the "run differential" line.

The Atlanta Braves have the 3rd highest run differential in the NL (+42). The Cubs lead the Majors with a ridiculous +106, the Phils are 2nd in the NL with a +79. The 2nd and 3rd place Marlins (+2) and Mets (+6) combine for 1/7 of the Braves total. This didn't surprise me much at all. The Fish are just too bad defensively at this point, not to mention too reliant on the HR. The Mets? They will have to do a lot more than win a few games under a new manager with the same mentality as the one they just fired if they want to get away from the "dysfuntional" tag that they have (deservedly) been given by the pundits.

The difference between the Braves and Phils is pretty high, but is given perspective when you consider this fact: Philly has won 5 games by nine+ runs (including one by 18 and another by 15) while the Braves have yet to win a game by that margin. Now, there is something to be said for obliterating opponents like that, but I still think that those wins skew Philidelphia's wide margin.

In defense of the Phillies--and in recognition of that "No Bias" issue again--the Braves will have to improve on their 1-5 record against the reigning division champs in order to truly prove that the numbers are misleading. The Braves will get their chance with another series against the Phils next week. For now, they simply need to take advantage of Philadelphia's current slump and keep doing what they're supposed to do--which is win series at home and against inferior opponents. 3 HR games from star first basemen and an offense that has been putting up higher scores with a little more consistency won't hurt either.

Wow... All I Can Say Is Wow

Jeremy Hermida and Dan Uggla powered the Marlins to what should have been a win against the Oakland A's.

Terrible defense, however, once again cost the Marlins, preventing the Fish from stealing a game in Oakland.

Hanley Ramirez couldn't catch a routine flyball that should have been out #3 in the bottom of the 8th. That misplayed popup put the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, who were singled in by Kurt Suzuki.

That was probably the game.

But then Dan Uggla hit a deep blast off of closer Huston Street, his second of the game, to tie things up in the top of the 9th. So this is what hope feels like.

In the bottom of the 11th, drowsy old man Luis Gonzalez dropped another routine fly ball that should have been out #1, which ended up being a double to Eric Chavez (yes, he still exists, apparently). Chavez ended up being the wall-off winning run after a bloop single on the chalk by Suzuki.

Kids, see what happens when you drop easy popups? It certainly doesn't make you look like a Major League team.

Easley powers Mets to win

Mets Manager Jerry Manuel had 500 wins as a manager coming into last night's game against the Angels. Number 501 was probably just as sweet as numbers 1 and 500 were. It was sweet because it was his first win as Mets Manager.

The Mets got off to a fast start last night as they took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st, after Jose Reyes scored on a David Wright ground out to second. Reyes led off the game with an infield single to second, stole second, and moved to third on a throwing error by Angels Catcher Jeff Mathis.

Reyes scored again to give the Mets a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd, after First Baseman Marlon Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to left. Reyes led off the top of the third with a triple to deep center. DH Carlos Delgado then gave the Mets a 3-0 lead after he hit his 10th homer of the season to center in the top of the 4th.

The Angels cut the deficit to 3-1 after Catcher Jeff Mathis hit a single to left that scored Center Fielder Torii Hunter, who singled to center earlier in the bottom of the 4th inning. Third Baseman Chone Figgins then led off the bottom of the 5th with a single to left. Left Fielder Reggie Willets then walked. Second Baseman Howie Kendrick then reached on an infield single to third to load the bases for DH Vladimir Guerrero.

Guerrero proceeded to tie the game at 3 after singling to center bringing home Figgins and Willets, and moving Kendrick over to third. Kendrick scored give the Angels a 4-3 lead on the very next play, which was a Torii Hunter single to center.

The Angels appeared to be on their way to a 4-3 win after bringing in Closer Francisco Rodriguez to shut the door in the top of the 9th inning. Mets Catcher Ramon Castro led off the 9th, and popped out to Catcher Jeff Mathis. Jose Reyes then singled to left, and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Pinch Hitter Fernando Tatis struck out swinging, up came David Wright.

Coming into the game, Wright was 1-for-20 in the ninth inning. Now he is 2-for-21, as he singled to left to score Reyes to tie the score at 4, and subsequently snapping Francisco Rodriguez's streak of 25 straight save conversions.

After the Angels were unable to score in their half the bottom of the 9th, the game was on to extras. With 2 outs already in the inning, Second Baseman Damion Easley stepped out, and promptly gave the Mets a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th, after hitting his 2nd homer of the year.

Mets Closer Billy Wagner then got the Angels 1,2, 3, in the bottom of the 10th, to earn his 16th save of the season, and send the Mets on the plane to Colorado happily after taking two out of three from the AL West leading Angels.

New Manager, Same Result

Mets Management thought that a Managerial change and changes to the Coaching Staff were what the Mets needed to right the ship. Instead, the Mets looked like the same team last night that they have looked like as of late, as they lost to the Angels by a score of 6-1, denying Jerry Manuel his first win as new Mets Manager.

The Mets managed to hit just 6 singles and score one run off of Angels Starter John Lackey, who went 7 and 2/3 innings giving up six hits, and one run while striking out 7 and walking one.

The Mets scored their only run in the top of the 1st, when Shortstop Damion Easley, who ran for Jose Reyes when he injured his hamstring, scored on a David Wright double play. (When Reyes was taken out, he threw a temper tantrum at Manuel because he didn't want to be taken out of the game. However, Manuel went into the clubhouse after the episode, and diffused the situation quickly, we think)

The Angels not only got even, but took the lead in their half of the 1st, when Center Fielder Torii Hunter doubled to left scoring Left Fielder Garrett Anderson, who reached safely at first after grounding out into a fielder's choice, and Right Fielder Vladimir Guerrero, who doubled to deep left center. Hunter then scored when Carlos Delgado botched a grounder to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.

The Angels added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd when First Baseman Casey Kotchman singled to center scoring Guerrero, who singled to left earlier in the inning. The Angels then made it 5-1, when Catcher Jeff Mathis homered to center in the bottom of the 6th. Finally, in the bottom of the eighth, DH Gary Matthews Jr. reached on an infield single to third that scored Casey Kotchman, who singled to center earlier in the inning.

Johan Santana, who started for the Mets, pitched 6 innings, and give up 5 runs while striking out 5 and walking 2.

After the defeat, Manuel said: "We looked very tired. I know I was tired. Maybe they were going through what I was going through." Hopefully now that the cloud has lifted, we can get back to playing baseball. "We've got a good team. It's just a matter of all of us getting on the same page and doing the things we need to do to win. I don't think we had the opportunity to dot all our I's and cross all our T's. I think that's a process that's going to be ongoing for a period of time. But once we get beyond that, we'll be OK."

"Everything was very positive during the pregame meeting so I think we're going to feel more confidence about ourselves and there's going to be a better atmosphere in this clubhouse." "There was a lot of talk about what was going on here, but now that it's over with, we're just going to try to have some fun and try to play the game the right way."

Will Manuel Live Up To His Word?

A 3:15 A.M. press release Eastern Standard Time to announce the firing of your Manager after letting him twist in the wind for weeks was certainly not a good move by the Mets organization. However, it is what it is, and we must move on because it's over, and there isn't anything we can do to change it.

That being said, we wonder if Jerry Manuel can turn around a franchise that hasn't been the same since the historic collapse of 2007. During his press conference, Manuel seemed to say just the right things in order to accomplish that.

The first thing he said was that the team had to freshen up its players. What he meant by that was give the everyday players a chance to rest and freshen up. What a better way to do that then start David Wright at DH tonight against the Angels. Although Wright has been the only MLB player to start every game and play every inning, he does need a rest.

The new boss of the Mets also said that he would shuffle the lineup depending upon the performance of the players. This is something Willie never did. As long as the players were healthy, he ran them out in the same spot in the lineup night after night. Manuel also believes that if a pitcher is pitching well, he will not hesitate to leave them out there to pitch seven or eight innings, and throw 120-130 pitches. Willie along with most other managers today, start to panic if a pitcher throws over 100 pitches.

Finally, even though it was reported that Sandy Alomar Sr. would stay as Third Base coach, Ken Oberkfell would be First Base Coach, Dan Warthen would be Pitching Coach, and Luis Aguayo would be Bench Coach, Manuel said during his press conference that Alomar Sr. and Aguayo would switch positions.

I am very happy to hear that Alomar Sr. and Aguayo will be switching positions because I feel that Alomar Sr. was too aggressive on many situations as Third Base Coach, including this past Sunday, when he sent Catcher Brian Schneider home as the potential tying run against the Rangers. Newsflash Sandy, He's a CATCHER. Needless to say, Schneider was out by approximately 30 feet, and the Mets lost the game 8-7.

Like all new people that are hired to replace somebody, Manuel said all the right things to get the Mets rolling at his introductory press conference. The only question now is will he actually do the things that he says he's going to do as manager once he starts to manage? We'll find out when he manages his first game tonight.

Braves' Rotation Can't Be This Good... Can it?

Imagine if every trip through the rotation was as good as the one the Braves just had. In the past five games, Atlanta's starters had this line: 3-1, 1.73, 28 K, 6 BB in 36.1 IP.

The most remarkable thing about those games is that that the Braves lost TWO of them thanks to an awakening, but still inconsistent, offense. The second most remarkable thing is that three of them were started by guys pitching their first full seasons in the bigs and a fourth was Charlie Morton's Major League debut. Of the pitchers in Atlanta's current rotation, only Tim Hudson has more than 21 career starts. In fact, Hudson has 6+ times as many starts in his career (296) as the other four have COMBINED (47).

I know that there is no way that this rotation could continue to be quite this good for much longer. However, I think this is far from a fluke as fans of other NL East teams would like to think. These are all talented guys. Hudson is a bonafide ace, obviously, but the other guys have plenty going for them.

Reyes has great movement on all his pitches, and Cox and McDowell thought last year that it was only a matter of him gaining control of those pitches at the big-league level. Reyes had not struggled in that area in the minors, but was just way too tightly wound in his first starts with the Braves. I've heard Tom Glavine being credited with getting in Jo-Jo's head and telling the youngster how good he thinks Reyes can be, so apparently the control problems were nothing that a pep talk from the greatest southpaw of this generation couldn't fix.

Jurrjens is like having a second Tim Hudson in the rotation. He only has a low 90's fastball but it sinks like crazy and he has a great change to go with it. Jurrjens almost never leaves a ball up in the zone if he's pitching well. When he's going, it's grounball after groundball. A formula that happens to be perfect for Coors Field, where Jair threw 7.2 scoreless innings last night.

Morton was drawing Adam Wainwright comparisons for his performance in Anaheim (of Los Angeles, California, The United States--just can't resist making fun of the Angels' ridiculous name. Now back to the blog), and those comparisons are as valid as they are ironic. Morton has the bigh 12 to 6 curve that highlights Wainwright's repetoire on top of having the same build. The irony being that Wainwright was once a Braves first round pick, exchange for J.D. Drew. Let's hope that Morton sticks around longer than Wainwright... or Drew, for that matter.

Jorge Campillo is not young (29) and is the one that would most easily be given the "fluke" designation, but I'd say he's a much more than adequate fourth or fifth starter. I think there's something quite different to a minor league journeyman (i.e. Buddy Carlyle or Jeff Bennett) all of a sudden "figuring out" the majors than there is to a guy like Campillo who went unnoticed through a stellar career in the Mexican League. The difference is that Campillo never even got his shot in the minor leagues until 3 years ago. If Campillo was an import with solid stats from the Japanese League (which is only marginally better than the Mexican League), it's safe to say that he would have a lot more hype behind him.

All that and I haven't said a word about his stuff yet. Let's just say that it took about as long for me to write that paragraph as it takes Campillo's change or curveball to get to home plate. Hitters wish they could swing twice at each pitch he throws. Maybe then they'd get a few more hits off him.

While they may not be the best rotation in the majors, the Braves rotation is more than enough to help the Braves continue to play like they have over the last few games. Especially if the offense comes out of it's shell, and starts to hit like it has in the last 3 Braves wins... and like it was supposed to all along. Now if we could only find a closer.... (Cue Mr. Gonzalez)

Phillies Insider: Utley Seems A Little Lost

I know the big story in baseball is the Willie Randolph firing. I'm really not at liberty to discuss the situation (nor is it my responsibility), but in short, I thought it was handled in the most unprofessional way... worse than a phone call or FedEx letter.

Seriously, a press release at 3:15 a.m.????


Shame on Omar Minaya and the Mets organization. As much as I hate the Mets (and that's only natural), I think Willie deserved a better fate. As Joe poignantly discussed in his blog, the Mets have worse problems.

OK, moving on...

The Phillies were on ESPN Monday night for their interleague showdown with the Boston Red Sox. Ryan Howard had two home runs and a triple while Jimmy Rollins homered and finished with three hits in an 8-3 victory.

Lost in the emotion of the game (it was a great win for the Phillies) was Chase Utley's performance. The leading NL All-Star vote getter went 0-for-5, dropping his season average to .303. The 29-year-old second baseman hasn't had a hit in the last three games.

Listen, Phillies fans will NEVER get on Chase's back. When he struggles, it's for a very short period of time. He'll never go in a prolonged slump for weeks or months. He'll eventually get his act together and start raking up hits on a consistently basis. He's an MVP candidate who happens to be scuffling a little.

It's apparent that Chase is having a tough time reading the ball. He has such a short, compact, sweet swing that he's capable of hitting the toughest pitches. But when he's getting fooled, he'll often hit a harmless pop up or swing too early and strikeout. And you can tell by reading his body language that Chase is pressing a bit.

What Phillies fans love about Utley is his competitive streak. For example, Monday night he hits a harmless grounder for a force out to give the Phillies an extra run. Most players would have "casually hustled" down the the line, mad at themselves for not putting the ball in the outfield.

Utley is a different kind of ballplayer. Soon, he'll be right back on track, hitting .320-plus again.

Until then, remember, as Harry Kalas would say: "Chase, you are the man!"

Omar is the one that should have been fired

Following up on the post written by my colleague Matt Wilson, Manager Willie Randolph, Pitching Coach Rick Peterson, and First Base Coach Tom Nieto were all fired this morning at 3:15 Eastern Standard Time after the Mets defeated the Angels 9-6 in Anaheim.

The Mets were indeed in need of a shakeup as they came into last night's game with a 33-35 record, and 6 and 1/2 games behind NL East leading Philadelphia, despite a $138 million dollar payroll. As Matt pointed out, it is always the manager who gets used as a scapegoat when a team is not playing up to their potential.

However, Omar Minaya deserves all blame for this. Why you ask? Well, let's go back to when Willie was first hired by Omar. The only coach that Willie was able to pick for himself was Rick Down. The rest were picked by Omar. What happened to Rick Down you ask? He was fired by Omar, and used as a scapegoat during a slide that the Mets endured during last season. What happened after Rick was fired? Gee. Let me think long and hard about this one. Oh yea, now I remember. The Mets had the worst collapse in MLB history, losing a 7 game lead over Philly with 17 to go. Way to go Omar!

Now to the players. Yes, Carlos Beltran had an awesome playoff in 2004, but was he really worth $119 million for 7 years? Next, Pedro Martinez. As it was, the seven-year contract he received from the Red Sox had been considered a huge risk in the 1997 off season, but Martinez had rewarded the team's hopes with two Cy Young Awards and six top 4 finishes. Martinez finished his Red Sox career with a 117-37 record, the highest winning percentage any pitcher has had with any team in baseball history.

Does that warrant a 4 year $53 million dollar contract though? Yes, the Mets needed to put butts in their seats, but you get played to play baseball, not to put butts in seats. In 2005, Matinez's first season with the Mets, he went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA, 208 strikeouts, and a league-leading 0.95 WHIP. It was his sixth league WHIP title, and the fifth time that he led the Major Leagues in the category. Opponents batted .204 against him.


Martinez started the 2006 season at the top of his game. At the end of May, he was 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA, with 88 strikeouts and 17 walks and 44 hits allowed in 76 innings; Martinez's record was worse than it could have been, with the Mets bullpen costing him two victories. However, during his May 26 start against the Florida Marlins, Martinez was instructed by the umpires to change his undershirt. He slipped in the corridor, injuring his hip, and his promising season curdled. The effect was not immediately apparent; although Martinez lost the Marlins game, his following start was a scintillating 0-0 duel with Arizona's Brandon Webb.

However, after that, beginning on June 6, Martinez went 4-7 with a 7.10 ERA in a series of spotty starts interrupted twice by stays on the disabled list. A right calf injury plagued him for the last two months of the season. After an unsatisfactory late season comeback, the Mets announced on September 27th that an MRI exam revealed a torn muscle in Martinez's left calf. Three days later, the team announced that Martinez also had a torn rotator cuff. Martinez underwent surgery which sidelined him for most of the 2007 season.

In 2008, Martinez was injured just four innings into his first game of the season, an April 1 no-decision against the Florida Marlins. He later told reporters he felt a "pop" in his left leg. Martinez was diagnosed with a strained hamstring, and did not return to action for more than two months. Is this what $53 million is supposed to get you?

Next up, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. He's basically just stealing money from the Mets, as he hasn't pitched in 2008 yet, and while running sprints in the outfield the day before the playoffs started in 2006, Hernández tore a muscle in his calf and had to be scratched from the postseason roster. He was re-signed by the Mets on November 14, 2006 to a 2-year deal. Another genius move by our General Manager.

Ahh! Luis Castillo. The man can barely walk. I'm physically disabled, and need assistance to walk, and I walk better than him. It seems like every two days he's out with an injury. How does Omar try and resolve the injury situation you ask? Throw a 4 year, $25 million dollar contact at him. That should heal the injury.

Finally, Moises Alou. He was injury-plagued before even coming to the Mets. However, on November 20, 2006, the Mets signed Alou to a one-year contract worth $7.5 million with a club option for 2008. After a good opening month in which he hit .318, Alou sustained yet another injury, and was sidelined with a torn quadriceps muscle until August. When he returned, Alou had had a 30 game hitting streak. The streak is notable for three reasons. It was the longest streak of 2007, it was the longest hitting streak ever achieved by someone over 40, and it broke the Mets' overall and single-season hitting streak records.


For a reward to a good 2007, the Mets, on October 31, 2007, exercised the option on Alou's contract for the 2008 season. However, his success was short lived. On March 5, 2008, he underwent hernia surgery, and missed the start of the season. He also has been on the DL this year for a strained calf multiple times this year. In fact, he only played one game before having to go back on the DL with the same injured calf, and has played only 15 games this season.

Of course you're not going to blame yourself for the money you spent, or the people you brought in. Blame the manager, and let him twist in the wind not knowing his job status day after day. Fire him after a win, and let the owner Fred Wilpon, say nothing except "Omar is in charge," to 1050 ESPN New York Tuesday morning. "It was his decision. He made that decision a short time ago, obviously, and decided what to do. You have to ask Omar about that"


Wilpon declined to answer any further questions. Gotta love baseball in New York.

Breaking News: Mets Fire Randolph

Don't ask me why I'm up at 4 AM, I'll just say that it's a Monday night in Gainesville. According to the AP Wire, Willie Randolph has been fired as manager of the New York Mets. The writing has been on the wall for the past few weeks, so this shouldn't be a shocker to anybody.

Personally, I don't feel this is Randolph's fault, as Omar Minaya should shoulder much more of the blame for building a very old, injury-plagued team. Often times in all professional sports, the coach takes too much credit for success and too much blame for losses. Coaches are usually a scapegoat for poor team construction (cough cough GM), and this situation is no different.

Bench coach Jerry Manuel will take the helm for the interim. Pitching coach Rick Peterson and 1B coach Tom Nieto were also let go tonight. I'll let my colleague, Mr. Arculeo, follow with analysis.

Why Do We Hurt the Ones We Love?

I am a jinx to my Florida Marlins. Over the past three years, I have made the journey from Gainesville to Miami to watch my favorite team on 10 occasions. In those 10 games, the Marlins have won just once, a blowout against the Reds last year. Clearly, I am a hex and can never watch my team win in person, yes?

I would test this theory this weekend, as I traveled down to St. Petersburg to watch a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. I went to Friday's game. Loss. Saturday. Loss. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't go to Sunday's series finale, and the Fish win big. It's one of the more bizarre streaks I've ever been apart of.

What does it all mean? I'm not entirely sure, but the Fish couldn't hit an off-speed artist in Andy Sonnanstine, and ran into a stellar start from Matt Garza. The bats finally woke up on Father's Day to hammer Edwin Jackson, who has run very hot and cold for the Rays. The Rays entered the series 24-10 at home, so losing two out of three is to be expected. The Rays and Marlins will meet again next Wednesday to complete the season series at Joe Robbie Stadium (yes, it will always be Joe Robbie to me).

Next up, the Fish head to the west coast and will battle the last-place Seattle Mariners. I don't expect a pushover victory here, as traveling across the country always takes its toll on a team. Pitching matchups will include Andrew Miller v. Carlos Silva, Scott Olsen v. Felix Hernandez, and Ryan Tucker v. someone named R.A. Dickey (that's not a joke). After Seattle, the Marlins will take on the Oakland A's before returning home. It is a road trip that is certain to upset my grandfather, who will be unable to stay up past midnight to watch the week's games.

Phillies Drops Final Two In St. Louis

Friday night, it was a thing of beauty.

The Phillies score 20 runs on 21 hits against an overachieving St. Louis Cardinals team. Things look promising.

That is until Saturday rolled along...

Whether it was a poor hitting approach or the dreadful FOX Sports announce team of Kenny Albert and Mark Grace, the Phillies couldn't figure out Kyle Lohse, who gave his best Brandon Webb sinker ball impression en route to the 3-2 win. He limited the Phillies to just four hits, and two came off the bat of pitcher Adam Eaton, who delivered his team-leading ninth quality start of the season.

OK, a loss is a loss is a loss. Go get 'em the next day, boys!

Oh yeah, I forgot. Brett "Hitting Machine" Myers was toeing the slab on getaway day. Great.

The Phillies took an early 1-0 lead on a Ryan Howard run-scoring double. As fast as you can say "send him to Triple'A," Myers caughed up the lead. Myers issued his world-leading 1,000th home run of the year to Troy Glaus in the third inning. The Phillies at that point trailed 5-1.

To their credit, the Phillies battled back, as they are accustomed of doing. Erratic bullpen pitching on the part of St. Louis helped the Phillies tie the game in the eighth inning thanks to four straight walks.

In the ninth inning, the Phillies had a wonderful opportunity to score the go-ahead run. With first and third and one out, Jimmy Rollins tapped a harmless groundball to first baseman Chris Duncan, who fired home to gun down Eric Bruntlett, who literally knocked catcher Yadier Molina out of the game. Oh, Bruntlett was out.

So, to the bottom half, where things got messy after Tom Gordon got the first two outs. A throwing error by Chase Utley kept the inning alive. Utley had a chance to redeem himself, but Gordon somehow missed the throw covering first base. Cardinals score the winning run.

The Phillies finished their nine-game road trip with a 5-4 mark. Not bad, but a little unexpected after a quick 3-0 start.

There are other issues up for discussion in a later post, notably the Myers situation, which is starting to become a huge concern.

Until then, it's time to prepare for the swarm of moronic Boston Red Sox fans to Citizens Bank Park starting tomorrow for the first of three.

Oh boy.

Continuation Of Double Header Blog

After losing game one, the Mets were looking to rebound in game 2, and had Pedro Martinez on the hill. However, it got off to a bad start for the Mets, as Rangers Shortstop Michael Young singled to center to score First Baseman Frank Catalanotto, who doubled to right. Then, in the top of the 3rd, Center Fielder Josh Hamilton singled to left to score Ian Kinsler, who reached on an error by Damion Easley.

With the Mets down 2-0, they sparked a rally in the bottom of the 3rd, after Jose Reyes reached on a strikeout wild pitch by Kason Gabbard. Luis Castillo then singled to center to move Reyes to third. After that, David Wright singled to right center scoring Reyes, and moving Castillo over to third, and cut the deficit to 2-1. A Carlos Beltran single to right center then scored Castillo to tie the game at 2.

The next sequence of events was illustrated so well by espn.com, which I've decided to post the description. So, credit goes to them for the following, not me. Here's the scenario: The bases are loaded in a tie game. Fans are chanting, "We want Pedro!" What does New York's beleaguered manager Willie Randolph do? He calls on a pinch-hitter who last played in the major leagues almost nine years ago. Talk about being on the hot seat. That pinch-hitter, Robinson Cancel, helped make Pedro Martinez a winner in his home season debut by grounding a two-run single to give the Mets a 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday for a doubleheader split. "I just felt like we had to take a crack at it," Randolph said. "Cancel made me look good for a minute."

Also, taken from espn.com, the following: After the game, Mets general manager Omar Minaya would not commit to repeated questions about Randolph's job security saying, "These are our coaches today. They are our coaches. As the GM I leave myself room to evaluate things. I think we're not playing to our potential. I always leave room to evaluate things."

As the Mets head out West to play the Angels in Cali tomorrow night, you have to wonder if Willie will still be the manager when the next home stand starts. Oh yeah, I'm almost forgot, Wagner shut the door in the 9th for NY ending a streak of three straight blown saves. It's a Miracle!

Willie Seems To Be Safe as Mets head out West

Coming into the weekend series, it was do-or-die for Willie and his coaching staff against the Rangers. After an impressive 7-1 win or Friday night, and a rain out last night, the Mets and Rangers were back at it today for a rare back-to-back doubleheader.

In game 1, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd after Ian Kinsler singled in Catcher Gerald Laird, who also singled. In their half of the 4th, the Mets got even after a Carlos Delgado home run. The tie was short lived however, after the Rangers went up 3-1 after Third Baseman Ramon Vasquez homered to right, scoring First Baseman Frank Catalanotto, who led of the top of the 5th with a single to right.

Carlos Beltran homered to center in the bottom of the 6th for the Mets to inch them closer 3-2, but in the top of the 7th, Ramon Vasquez singled to center for the Rangers, scoring Left fielder David Murphy who singled to left to lead of the inning, and Gerald Laird, who also singled to left in the inning to give the Rangers a 5-2 lead. They went up 7-2 after Kinsler homered to left to score Vasquez. In the top of the 8th, Right Fielder Milton Bradley homered to put the Rangers up 8-2, and the game seemingly out of reach for the Mets.

However, the Mets showed some fight in the bottom of the 8th as Delgado singled to score Carlos Beltran, who walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch to make the score 8-3. Damion Easley then grounded into a fielder's choice to score Delgado, after new comer Trot Nixon moved Delgado to 3rd after a double to right.

With the score 8-4, pinch hitter Fernando Tatis who hit for Pitcher Scott Schoeneweis, singled in Trot Nixon. The score remained 8-5 until the bottom of the 9th when Luis Castillo scored on a Beltran single. Castillo singled to left to lead off the bottom of the inning, and moved to third after David Wright walked.

With the score 8-6 and Wright on 2nd, pinch hitter Ramon Castro brought in Wright with a single to move the Mets within 1. However, Damion Easley stranded Nixon at 2nd who walked, when he flew out to left to end the game.

Braves Stockpile Arms

After signing journeyman starter, Brian Lawrence to a minor league contract earlier in the week, the Braves made another pick-up yetserday when they added former Baltimore closer, Jorge Julio to their AAA affiliate, Richmond.

Of these two signings, Julio is the one with better upside and, due to the Braves recent bullpen woes, is much more likely than Lawrence to be in Atlanta this season. In 15 appearences for Cleveland this year, Julio had no W-L record and a 5.60 ERA in 17.2 IP, along with 15 K and 11 BB. Now in his 8th season in the majors, Julio is a hard thrower that has a career 4.40 ERA with 99 saves playing for Baltimore, the Mets, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida, before going to Cleveland this past offseason.

More intriguing signings could be coming soon. Following the signing of Julio, Bobby Cox indicated that the front office was not done building an "inventory" of veteran arms for an injury depleted pitching staff.

Phillies Insider: Manuel Will Monitor Gordon

According to various Philadelphia media outlets, including Phillies.com, Charlie Manuel plans to ease Tom "Flash" Gordon's workload in the coming weeks leading into the All-Star break.

The 40-year-old set-up man was last seen Wednesday night, when he worked himself into a ninth-inning jam before Dan Uggla belted a walk-off grand slam to give the Florida Marlins a 6-2 win.

"I think this is a time where it's very important that we watch Gordon," Manuel said. "I don't want to be sending Gordon out there three or four nights in a row. I figure he might could go a couple. But this is a time of the year when we want to keep him strong."

Gordon's had only a few poor outings this season. Throw away the Opening Day disaster -- when he allowed five earned runs on five hits in 1/3 inning -- and Wednesday's outing, Gordon has an ERA just over 2.00.

Like always, Manuel has a great "feel" for his players. Flash has been used a lot lately, and over the last two seasons, he has struggled during the mid months of the schedule due to normal wear and tear. It's a good idea that someone with as much mileage as Flash isn't overworked.

Last year, for example, Gordon was placed on the disabled list and eased back into his eighth-inning role. He was superb during the Phillies' September run to the division title because he was relatively fresh.

Right now, Manuel can afford to let Gordon rest. The Phillies, who have the best bullpen ERA in baseball, are receiving quality performances from Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero, each of whom can pitch the eighth inning when Gordon needs to sit.

Every team's biggest concern is bullpen and the extend to which it is worked throughout the course of a season. Obviously, the Phillies have a great situation going for them. The starting pitching has been rock solid and the relievers are rested.

But there's still plenty of season left and anything can happen.

Game Reax: Phillies Pound Cardinals

Early and often, the Phillies destroyed St. Louis Cardinals pitching Friday night.

First, it was the back-to-back-to-back home runs by Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell.

Then the Phillies erupted for a season-high nine runs in the fourth inning.

Which of these events transpired in that inning?

A) Kyle Kendrick had two hits and scored twice.
B) Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer was bullied before exiting the game after tossing 90 pitches
C) The Phillies spent 36 minutes hammering away at the plate.
D) All of the above.

If you said "D," good for you...

The Phillies put on an offensive display and pounded the Cardinals, 20-2.

The victory pushed Philly's lead in the division to four games ahead of the Marlins. And the 20-run outburst marked the second time the team has reached that feat this season.

After scuffling to score runs in Florida this week, it was nice to see the bats break loose. The Phillies, who now lead the league in scoring, are capable of posting 10 or 15 or 20 runs every night.

Wellemeyer looked nothing like the success story he was made out to be entering the game. The Phillies took advantage of his inability to find the strike zone.

Wellemeyer lasted 3 1/3, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits. Ron Villone relieved him, and he was just as bad. Villone surrendered six earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Kyle Kendrick cruised in seven innings of work, giving up only one earned run while scattering eight hits. Rudy Seanez and Clay Condrey pitched spotless eighth and ninth innings.

The Phillies, as you'd might expect, got production from just about everyone in the lineup. Utley finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs; Shane Victorino had three hits and scored twice; Carlos Ruiz went 4-for-6 with a double and four RBIs; Pedro Feliz chipped in with three hits; and Howard had three hits, including a pair of home runs, and five RBIs.

All told, Philadelphia produced a season-best 21 base knocks.

Things got ugly in the eighth inning when Russ Springer plunked Howard on the thigh. Springer was immediately ejected, followed by Tony La Russa, who argued the beaning wasn't intentional.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel thought otherwise.

"Ryan stays way off the plate," Manuel told reporters. "He hit him. That's all I have to say."

In the bottom half of the inning, Seanez fired a pitch behind Brendan Ryan, who stared at Seanez, a trained mixed martial arts fighter, as if he was about to step.

I don't think this will turn into a Red Sox-Rays thing. Over and done with, I hope.

Game Notes & Opinions

- La Russa's tirade was stupid. You look stupid when you're screaming and yelling, throwing sunglasses and kicking dirt while your players are getting pummeled 17-2.

- Why does La Russa insist on batting his pitcher in the eigith spot? Please, Cardinal fans, explain the rationale to me.

- How's this for a stat: Beginning with their 15-6 win over the Astros May 25, the Phillies have outscored opponents 128-58. Whew.

- The Phillies have scored in double digits in five of their last seven wins in St. Louis.

- The Phillies scored 20 runs in a win over the Rockies May 26. The last time the team scored at least 20 runs twice in the same season, you'd have to go aaallll the way back to 1900.

- The Phillies hadn't hit three consecutive homers since 2004, when the team did it twice in the matter of weeks. Friday marked only the seventh time in franchise history the Phillies have accomplished that feat.

- The Phillies are the first team since the 2000 Oakland A's to score at least 20 runs in a game twice in one season.

Mets acquire Nixon from D-backs

The Mets acquired outfielder Trot Nixon from the Diamondbacks on Friday in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Nixon, 34, was hitting .309 with 10 home runs for Triple-A Tucson. Best known for the decade he spent playing left field for the Red Sox, Nixon is a career .275 hitter. The move shores up an outfield that currently has two players, Moises Alou and Ryan Church, on the disabled list. Neither is due back soon.

(Story taken from: http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080613&content_id=2910839&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym)

Willie's job is safe....... for one game at least

Going into the game Friday night, there was growing speculation that if the Mets didn't turn things around this weekend, Manager Willie Randolph, Pitching Coach Rick Peterson, and Hitting Coach Howard Johnson would be fired. Well, at least for one game, their jobs are safe as the Mets blew out the Rangers tonight 7-1, behind a solid start from Oliver Perez.

Despite trailing 1-0, thanks to Center Fielder Josh Hamilton's 18th home run, the Mets seemed unfazed, as they came back and scored 2 of their own in the bottom of the 1st courtesy of a Carlos Beltran single to right that scored Jose Reyes, who singled to center earlier in the inning, and a throwing error by Third Baseman German Duran that scored Beltran.

The scoring didn't stop there, as David Wright hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth to bring home Reyes who reached on an infield single to shortstop. In the bottom of the 6th, Marlon Anderson singled to right, and scored Carlos Delgado, who doubled to right center to lead off. Then, Endy Chavez hit a ground rule double to right to score Anderson, and move Catcher Brian Schneider to third. Schneider singled to right. Finally, a single by Ollie scored Schneider and Chavez to make the score its final of 7-1.

Not to be overlooked in this game is the start of Perez. Since Pedro returned to the rotation, Ollie has been pitching well. He kind of had to after his 10-2 stink bomb on the West Coast against the Giants. In his previous start against the Padres in San Diego, Perez went 5 and a third giving up 4 hits and one run, while striking out 5 and walking 2.

Tonight against the Rangers, he went 7, giving up one run on three hits, while striking out 8 and walking 3. Not to mention, a 2 RBI hit in the 6th.

Tomorrow, Pedro returns home to Shea as he faces Kason Gabbard. Will the jobs of Willie and his staff be safe after tomorrow night? We'll have to wait and see.

Phillies Insider: Moyer's Strong Start

Jamie Moyer proved once again Thursday night that age, really, is nothing but a number.

The 45-year-old left-hander stymied the Florida Marlins in eight innings of work, allowing only two hits and striking out three, en route to a 3-0 Phillies win.

While Moyer comes up short on pure stuff, his knowledge and understanding of the game makes him successful at his age. Moyer improved to 9-0 lifetime against the Fish, an incredibly impatient lineup that feeds off fastballs and hard stuff. Moyer, the master of deception, taps out at about 83 mph. The Marlins, showing their youthful ignorance, once again couldn't figure out what to do against the old timer.

Moyer isn't going to look this good all season. He'll finish the year with an ERA around 4.75 and 8-10 losses. He knows what he's capable and incapable of doing.

That said, he still knows how to get the job done. And the Phillies should be thankful they have a guy like Moyer in the clubhouse.