» Johan Santana

The Mets won their season opener against the Reds. Plain and simple I really enjoyed (as always) watching Johan pitch, he gave the Mets a strong 5 1/3 and then the bullpen came in to close the deal, without allowing a hit.

Like many Mets fans, I was super impressed with the bullpen, and of course Daniel Murphy. Driving in both Mets runs (1 with a homer) he propelled the Mets to victory on the offensive side of the game. Also, you can call me selfish…but I wanted a close game today. I wanted to see the one-two punch that is Putz – Krod. They looked good, especially K-Rod. I expect to see the same result throughout this season.

Overall, it was a good game to watch, good defense, good pitching and an overall good way to start the season (Especially for this Mets fan!)

Looking forward to Game 2!

There is not much that can be taken from today’s game. It was a debacle. Any gamethat you lose 15-4 is not going to give you too many positives, to say the least.

The game was over early, as the Cardinals had a ton of starters on the field, while the Mets only had Luis Castillo, Dan Murphy, Ryan Church, and Brian Schneider reprisenting the starters in today. The Cards scored in the first four innings, three times in the first, once in the second, twice in the third and SEVEN times in the fourth. That’s right seven runs in the fourth.

OK, game analysis. Freddy Garcia started the game, his second of the season. He had another horrible outing, 2 innings, 4 runs, all earned, 3 hits, and a walk. His curve was decent, but his “fast”ball was non-exisitant. Garcia is DONE. He needs to go. There is nothing left in that tank. Since 2006, he has thrown around 75 inefective innings, had several surgeries, gained a ton of weight, and reported into camp with an attitude. Any more time wasted would be a travesty.

Additionally, the loud “thud” you heard was Luis Castillo’s average crashing back down to reality. He had a good initial game, but since game one of Spring has as many hits as I do.

That would be zero. I guess losing 17 pounds and saying all the right things on reporting mean nothing without actual execution upon actual games.

Dillon Gee had probably the worst inning of work in his career, and I mean going back to T Ball.  It started off pretty well, two infield grounders right at defenders. Problem is that the first one was thrown away by SS Jose Coronado, the the second one, a possible double play, was instead a fielder’s choice that ended up with runners at 1st and 2nd after the “neighborhood” play was not called, and both runners were deemed safe. Then began the hit parade. Three straight singles, a hit batsman, another hit, and 4 runs were in. A sacrifice fly finally gave us one out, but another run scored. a two run double scored two more before a grounder and popup finally ended the carnage. Gee probably could have gotten out of the inning with only a run or two if the first two batters had been retired as they should have been, but he kind of let it get to him and suffered a meltdown.

So, what GOOD can we take fromthis game? Not a lot. Tom Martin pitched well, putting him in a competition with Casey Fossum for the second bullpen lefty spot. Marlon Anderson had two hits in his first real extended playing time. Robinson Cancel had a couple of hits.

That’s basically it.

Sad, huh? Well, you have a game or two like this every now and then, so we can’t be TOO worried, but it is a bit troublesome that the teamis either VERY GOOD or VERY BAD. Hopefully things will settle down to a more even distribution.

The only other news to report is that apparently Johan Santana’s initial start of the season may have been put off until the 5th game of the season instead of opening day. It’s not necessarily horrible news, as long as this is not a lingering thing. Again, the Johan situation bears close scrutiny as the season wears on. Our “crack” training staff would not put out pollyanna information after all, right?

Like last year when they assured Met fans that Ryan Church’s concussion was a day to day thing. That Moises Alou would be out a week to ten days max, Pedro Martinez would be back and raring to go in May, Orlando Hernandez’ toe was healing faster than expected…

I have to say, the last thing in the world any Mets dan wanted to hear is the word “scratch”  after the name Johan Santana. The elbow certainly provided an un-needed scare to the Mets fans of the world.

35 Pitches....Keep It Up!

It was great to see that he threw some pitches today, fast balls, about 35 of them. A welcomed sight to this Mets fan sore eyes!

I will make sure to keep you all up to date on the progress of the Ace for the New York Mets….

Until Next Time,

Happy Blogging!

Well, since the game was a total and complete blowout, I will jump into it later.

To briefly sum up, the Mets took on the Tigers at Port St. Lucie today, and stomped them 13-1. The Tigers had virtually their entire starting lineup there and it mattered not.

OK, the more important news was that Johan Santana threw today, testing the elbow that he has had tightness in and caused absolute panic all over Mets Nation.

He came out of it feeling fine, and the team actually canceled the schedule of sending him to New York tomorrow (a day off) for an MRI.

Not sure if I totally agree with THAT, I’d feel much better if he at least got an MRI done in Florida (they must have one sitting around down there somewhere, right?) and sending the results for evaluation. Couldn’t hurt, and might spot something that is not felt yet. I’d prefer we be 100% certain, but who am I? Just a Mets Blogger.

Anyway, the offense looked GREAT, obviously, and that is a good thing, since we will be losing much of the team to the WBC (15 Mets total are playing), so no name kids and scrubs? Here is your shot at stardom (or at least catching the eye of a scout or two) starting Tuesday!

Oh, well. Enjoy the day off (even though we have not had baseball since October…) and the updates will resume then, although if I get a hair across my but I my actually don the analysts hat and do some player profiling of my own.

Oh, and as always, if Shane Victorino is crossing the street in front of you, “accidentally” slipping your foot off the brake and hitting the gas COULD be justified.

Not death, mind you, but a few weeks on the DL would be good for his mental acuity!

LET’S GO METS!

Well, this is it, the number one move Minaya has ever (and will ever) pull off for the NY Mets…the acquisition of a certain ex Minnesota Twin (Sorry Aaron – Twins Author)…of course you all know it’s Mr. Johan Santana.

By trading for the (then) 28 year old left hand pitching machine, often considered one of the top 3 pitchers in all of baseball, Minaya had really outdone himself.

At the time of the acquisition, the Mets really needed a “Pick-Me-Up” after their historic collapse of the season prior.  The fans demanded something dramatic, and they got it in the form of Johan.

The Mets agreed to send young outfielder Carlos Gomez plus pitching prospects Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra to Minnesota. Ok, so I did like Gomez, but I like Santana just a little (I mean just a very little) more than him.

Talking about Santana as a 2 time Cy Young winner seems to underestimate his achievements. He brings an energy like the Mets haven’t seen since the likes of Doc and Tom. His presence alone makes watching each and every start he makes a true pleasure. Win or lose, he battles and competes like no other in the sport of baseball.

Even though they collapsed again last season, the Mets gave me something to watch. I had the honor (As did many) of seeing the Santana Gem towards the end of the season when the Mets needed it most. I can only imagine what Gems this Ace will produce for the next few years for the Mets.

I honestly believe Santana might have edged out Lincecum if the bullpen would have help even 3 more games for him in the season. Well, what’s done is done, this year is a whole new ballgame (pun intended).

So hat’s off to you Minaya, you have done some really great things in your tenure as Mets GM, keep it up! For all of you loyal Mets readers, I am going to follow this up with a position by position break down of your (and my) 2009 New York Metropolitans.

Until next time, Happy Blogging, and Lets Go Mets in 2009! Shop New York Mets Fan Gear