Caption Contest! Chef Pelf

Credit to HotFootBlog for the pic!

Winner of the caption contest gets a free Mets book...let's see what ya got!

"This Jason Heyward Stew is Delicious!"

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Extra-inning Walk off!

I don't know about you, but yesterday's game frustrated the heck out of me early.

Bad baserunning, sparse hitting, a waste of an excellent outing by Big Mike Pelfrey, and a bit of what Pink Floyd would call a "creeping malaise."

But three late rallies did away with all of that.

The Mets, down 3-0 to start their half of the 8th, scored 2 in the frame, scratched one run in the 9th, and loaded the bases in the 10th to set-up Carlos Beltran for a game winning bases loaded walk.

Jose Reyes had a huge hit in the 8th to finally break the scoring drought for the Mets. With two runners on Jose smoked one to the gap in left-center. Unfortunately, Reyes got greedy and tried to stretch it into a triple.

That was just a bad mistake--especially when you have Reyes speed and can score on any hit. Still, it was a very big night for Reyes, who continues to hit the ball well.

"It was good hitting and stupid base running," Reyes said.

Carlos Beltran was dominant and also doubled, stole third and scored the tying run in the ninth for the Mets, who have won eight of nine.

"He can take over a game. That's basically what he did tonight," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.

Beltran opened the ninth with a double off Mike Gonzalez and swiped third on a close play with one out. Braves third baseman Chipper Jones thought third-base umpire Greg Gibson missed the call, and replays backed him up.

"It came down to one play and he got it wrong. I never had a guy slide into my glove and be safe," Jones said. "We played a perfect game tonight and we lost."

Fernando Tatis, down two strikes, was hit by a pitch.

Jerry Manuel, who has taken a beating here and on other blogs for some questionable moves during Johan Santana's loss, pinch-hit Luis Castillo for Jeremy Reed.

I thought it was a gutsy move.

It paid off when Castillo tied it with a sacrifice fly. Score one for Jerry!

Then, almost inexplicably, Tatis was picked off first for the third out.

But the game was tied, and momentum had turned in the Mets favor.

"You could see it. Everyone was up. Last year it probably would have been a 1-2-3 inning. It showed we have heart and determination," Ryan Church said.

Frankie Rodriguez pitched both the 9th and 10th innings to earn the victory.

In the bottom of the 10th Jose Reyes reached on an infield single with two outs and stole second. After an intentional walk to Alex Cora, pinch-hitter Ramon Castro earned a walked to load the bases.

And that brought the hero of the night--the hero of the season--up to the plate.

Beltran worked the count full and took ball four to plate the winning run.

The Mets won, all errors and mistakes forgiven, and joy in Mudville.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final 10th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Atlanta (16-17)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	3	10	0
N.Y. Mets (18-14) «	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	4	9	0

Players of the Game

New York J. Reyes AB 5 R 1 H 2 HR 0 RBI 2

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	5	1	2	2	0	1	0	.274
Alex Cora, 2B-1B	3	0	1	0	2	0	0	.333
Daniel Murphy, LF	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.277
a- Gary Sheffield, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.178
Francisco Rodriguez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b- Ramon Castro, PH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.292
Carlos Beltran, CF	4	1	2	1	1	0	0	.374
David Wright, 3B	4	0	2	0	0	1	3	.317
Fernando Tatis, 1B-LF	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.333
Jeremy Reed, RF-LF	3	1	1	0	0	1	0	.350
c- Luis Castillo, PH-2B	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.321
Omir Santos, C	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.283
Mike Pelfrey, P	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.083
J.J. Putz, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
d- Ryan Church, PH-RF	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	.269
Totals	33	4	9	4	5	4
a-grounded out for Murphy in the 8th
b-walked for Rodriguez in the 10th
c-hit a sacrifice fly for Reed in the 9th
d-singled for Putz in the 8th
Batting
2B - Jose Reyes (4, Jurrjens), Carlos Beltran (7, Gonzalez)
3B - David Wright (3, Jurrjens)
SF - Luis Castillo (2)
RBI - Jose Reyes 2 (15), Carlos Beltran (25), Luis Castillo (10)
2-OUT RBI - Carlos Beltran (9)
SB - Jose Reyes (11, 2nd base off J. Bennett/McCann), Carlos Beltran (4, 3rd base off Gonzalez/McCann)
CS - David Wright (6, 2nd base by Jurrjens/McCann), Fernando Tatis (1, 2nd base by Gonzalez/McCann)
Team LOB - 7

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mike Pelfrey	7	6	2	2	1	3	0	4.89
J.J. Putz	1	2	1	1	2	1	0	3.79
Francisco Rodriguez (W,1-0)	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	1.15
IBB - Jones by J.J. Putz, by Kotchman, McCann by Francisco Rodriguez
Pitches-Strikes - Mike Pelfrey 95-64, J.J. Putz 24-11, Francisco Rodriguez 26-17
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Mike Pelfrey 11-6, J.J. Putz 2-0, Francisco Rodriguez 2-4
Batters Faced - Mike Pelfrey 27, J.J. Putz 7, Francisco Rodriguez 9

Good Morning Mets Fans!

John Maine had another strong outing, though he was a bit wild. He gave up a career-high six walks, but thanks to two homeruns by Mets superstar Carlos Beltran, and another by David Wright, the Mets overcame some early struggles to beat the rival Braves 6-4.

Wright and Beltran drove in all 6 runs--it was a continuation of an amazing start for Beltran, and more sparks of life from DW, who has an outstanding .964 OPS over his last 7 games, with four extra-base hits in 26 at-bats.

I think it's safe to say that Wright is officially "back, " and Chipper Jones agrees.

"They're great players, man. They're hitting in the middle of that lineup for a reason," Atlanta's Chipper Jones said about Beltran and Wright.

John Maine provided a much needed strong outing--his second in a row--and his teammates and manager appreciated what he accomplished.

"I'm proud of Maine for what he did for us," Beltran said. "He struggled for a couple of innings and was able to adjust and give us an opportunity to get back in the game. That really shows he's giving everything he has. ... He didn't give up."

"He only lost it for an inning or two," Manuel said. "Then he made an adjustment and was able to throw strikes. That's batting."

Maine said he was motivated by a "good vibe" in the Mets' dugout.

"Nobody else gave up on me and it was a good feeling," Maine said. "I didn't give up on myself."

“It was a different kind of dugout today, which I like,” said Maine, who allowed only three second-inning runs over six innings. “Everyone was really up, really wanting to win this one.”

But even with the good vibe and the win, Maine, a thinking man's pitcher, knows he is not quite there yet.

"Walks are killing me," Maine said, adding he made an adjustment in his mechanics after the second inning. "It's about slowing myself down and not rushing myself."

How hot is Carlos Beltran? I will tell you...my fingers are burning just typing about him.

Beltran, hitting .400, was 2-for-3 with a walk and four RBI...the two home runs gave him four this season.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said Beltran thrives by being more than just a pull hitter.

"He can be very, very dangerous to hit the ball to center field, left field," Manuel said. "It's a very, very good sign for him."

Beltran leads the National League with a .400 average and has reached base in all 24 Mets games this season, but he hadn't shown much power the first month.

"When it went out, it was good relief for us," Beltran said of his first homer.

Neither of Beltran's homers were pulled. Both went just to the left of center field.

"I'm seeing the ball good and letting the ball get deep," Beltran said. "I'm using the whole field. All my career, I've been a pull hitter. Using the whole field gives you a better opportunity."

"It's good to see the power," Manuel said.

The other hitting hero, David Wright, hit another two-run blast that gave him his 500th and 501st of his career. DW is now the seventh Met to reach the 500-RBI plateau.

In another good sign, Carlos Delgado returned and had a single. His sore right hip will hamper him all year, but he took healthy cuts and looked decent despite the layoff.

The Mets relievers were excellent. Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless 7th, J.J. Putz came in and gave up one run on a Chipper Jones' home run in the eighth, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save on the young season.

Go over and see this piece from Metsradamus on Ollie's first night in the bullpen. Prepare to laugh.

Over on Mets.com is a good article on the Mets happiness in seeing Delgado back in action.

DW is coming on strong.

DW 2009 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	24	92	16	27	6	1	2	12	15	28	4	3	.293	.389	.446	.835
Career	727	2742	480	846	189	11	132	501	355	527	96	25	.309	.389	.530	.918
Last 7	7	26	3	8	2	1	1	6	4	8	2	1	.308	.387	.577	.964
Projected	162	621	108	182	41	7	14	81	101	189	27	20	.293	.389	.446	.835

Mack of Mack's Mets has some great writeups on our minor leaguers, including Sean Ratliff winning SAL Player of the Week!

OK my friends....Livan is on the hill tonight, so the bats must stay hot!

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (11-13) «	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	6	8	1
Atlanta (11-14)	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	5	0

Player of the Game

New York C. Beltran AB 3 R 2 H 2 HR 2 RBI 4

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	4	1	1	0	1	0	1	.257
Daniel Murphy, LF	4	1	1	0	1	0	2	.316
Francisco Rodriguez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Carlos Beltran, CF	3	2	2	4	1	1	2	.400
Carlos Delgado, 1B	4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.250
David Wright, 3B	4	1	2	2	0	1	0	.293
Ryan Church, RF	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	.286
Ramon Castro, C	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.243
Luis Castillo, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.344
John Maine, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
a- Alex Cora, PH	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.321
Bobby Parnell, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
J.J. Putz, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b- Gary Sheffield, PH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.176
Jeremy Reed, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.273
Totals	34	6	8	6	4	9
a-singled for Maine in the 7th
b-walked for Putz in the 9th
Batting
2B - David Wright (6, Vazquez)
HR - Carlos Beltran 2 (4, Vazquez, Vazquez), David Wright (2, Vazquez)
RBI - Carlos Beltran 4 (18), David Wright 2 (12)
2-OUT RBI - Carlos Beltran 2 (6)
SB - Jose Reyes 2 (6, 2nd base off Vazquez/Ross, 2nd base off J. Bennett/Ross)
CS - Gary Sheffield (1, 2nd base by J. Bennett/Ross)
Team LOB - 5
Fielding
DP - Reyes-Castillo-Delgado
E - Luis Castillo (2, Throwing)

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
John Maine (W,2-2)	6	3	3	3	6	7	0	5.20
Bobby Parnell (H,5)	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1.46
J.J. Putz (H,6)	1	2	1	1	0	2	1	3.60
Francisco Rodriguez (S,6)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.69
Pitches-Strikes - John Maine 100-59, Bobby Parnell 13-6, J.J. Putz 20-15, Francisco Rodriguez 11-8
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - John Maine 4-6, Bobby Parnell 1-1, J.J. Putz 1-0
Batters Faced - John Maine 26, Bobby Parnell 3, J.J. Putz 5, Francisco Rodriguez 3

Arod vs David Wright vs Chipper Jones

Yes, it's begun: fan vs fan in the "my player is better than yours" battle royales.

I was having a chat with some baseball buddies yesterday, and they happen to be Yankee fans.

The discussion turned to "best third baseman". This is a typical Yankee fan "argument"--they take the best players on their team and then compare them to everyone else using specious logic. Another of these arguments would be like, "best young power pitcher with a Native American heritage". My point to them was that ARod isn't even a third baseman, but rather the best hitting shortstop of all-time.

So anyway, we get into it a bit over third baseman, and my thoughts were that David Wright, over the last 3 years, has been near equal with ARod, and that ARod's 2007 skews the total numbers a bit in his favor.

That sent them into a tizzy, and they proceeded to say how it was ARod by such a wide margin that the real discussion was who was second. A few placed David Wright fourth behind Chipper Jones and Evan Longoria.

Now while Longoria isn't really in the discussion, Chipper, of course, is. When I look at the three I place DW ahead of Chipper because of his ability to play every day, while Chipper plays in about 70% of his team's games.

So let's look at the 3-year splits and see what the stats tell us:

ARod (2006-2008) Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	1665	360	503	90	1	124	380	250	43	376	57	11	.302	.403	.581	.984

Chipper (2006-2008) Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	1363	277	466	94	8	77	263	233	2	209	15	2	.342	.435	.592	1.027

David Wright (2006-2008) Batting Splits
Overall	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total	1812	324	566	124	8	89	347	254	15	346	69	15	.312	.396	.537	.933

Each of the three are top hitters. ARod obviously has the most power, Chipper the best eye, and DW the most speed, consistency and durability.

The discussion continues and I tell these guys that my preference is the 26-year old that is just entering his prime vice the 37-year old Brave that can't stay on the field very much, and the soon to be 34-year old primadonna who, despite being one of the greatest hitters of any generation, can't win the big one and is hated wherever he goes.

And what does FanGraphs say?

Chipper Jones, 7.6 value wins, $34.3M value in 2008 against an actual salary of $12.3M.
David Wright, 7.2 value wins, $32.5M value in 2008 against an actual salary of $5.3M.
ARod, 6.2 value wins, $28.2M value in 2008 against an actually salary of $28M.

As far as fielding goes, Chipper is the best of the three, followed closely by DW, with ARod third.

All three have superb numbers, but I wouldn't trade David Wright for anyone, he's the youngest, most consistent, and easily the least expensive of the three. He is the face of the franchise, gritty as hell, and he is going to continue to get a bit better as he makes his way toward Cooperstown.

And God forbid you tell a Yankee fan how much better Jose Reyes is than "past a diving Jeter".

The Golden Age....of the Strikeout?

Today is September 12, 2008--there are about 17 games left in the regular season.

It's been a very good season for a variety of reasons. Statistically, nothing really stands out--let me re-phrase that--there is one thing, and we'll get to it in a second.

There's been good slugging, but no one chasing 50+ home runs and 150 RBIs. Ryan Howard leads MLB with 43 HRs, and about a half dozen guys are in the mid-30s.

Good hitting? Sure, but no one is making a run at .400 or even .380. The top hitters for average are Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols, both at about .360, and the next highest guy is Matt Holliday at .329.

Pitching-wise it's been business as usual...there is one 20-game winner, Cliff Lee, and 2 or 3 other guys that might win 20.

So what is different about this year?

It's the strikeout.

Two players have a very good chance at striking out 200+ times on the year: Ryan Howard and Mark Reynolds. A third, Jack Cust, will get up to 190.

To put that in perspective, no one, in the entire history of major league baseball, has ever struck out 200 or more times in a season.

Ryan Howard is at 189 and will easily eclipse his record of 199 Ks, which was set just last year.

Mark Reynolds is at 183 and has already Kd 13 times this month.

Jack Cust is "only" at 174, but he's a sure bet to add at least 10-12 more Ks to his total.

In 2005 only 60 players had 100 or more Ks. In 2006, 74 players reached that figure. In 2007, that number rose to 89. If 2008 continues to form, we could see that number topped to over 90 players with 100 or more Ks.

Mets fans should actually take heart--the team has the fewest Ks in the National league and is 3rd in walks. When looking at the K leaders, you have to go all the way down to 41st to find a Met.

So to what do we attribute this continuing rise in Ks over the last few years? Better pitching? A wider strike zone? Technology? I will say: no, no and no. There seems to be another reason, though only a freakenomist would make the connection.

You have to ask--are steroids, or more specifically, a lack of steroids, part of this trend?

I think so. Bats and reflexes are slower, and those "big swings" are still there. The trend in increased Ks began in earnest when the testing and punishment for steroids came into play.

Homerun totals are down, strikeout numbers are up--the variables are the same, the game is the same, the strike zone is the same--in fact, nothing else has really changed at all these past few year--except steroid use.

Welcome to the new era of the "non chemical aided" free swinger....it's not a pretty sight.

Sortable Batting
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Ryan Howard	PHI	560	91	136	25	2	43	129	1	1	72	189	.243	.330	.525	.855
2	Mark Reynolds	ARI	487	84	118	25	3	27	92	10	1	56	183	.242	.321	.472	.794
3	Jack Cust	OAK	434	66	99	16	0	28	66	0	0	96	176	.228	.368	.459	.826
4	Dan Uggla	FLA	478	88	125	37	1	30	84	5	5	65	152	.262	.357	.531	.889
5	Chris Young	ARI	569	76	140	41	6	19	74	12	5	53	151	.246	.309	.439	.749
6	Carlos Pena	TAM	442	70	109	21	2	28	88	1	1	83	148	.247	.374	.493	.867
7	Adam Dunn	CIN/ARI	459	72	110	20	0	36	89	2	1	109	146	.240	.389	.519	.907
8	Matt Kemp	LAD	544	83	155	36	4	16	69	33	9	42	141	.285	.336	.454	.790
9	Jeremy Hermida	FLA	480	70	119	22	3	16	58	6	0	46	131	.248	.322	.406	.728
10	Jim Thome	CHW	448	82	111	26	0	31	84	1	0	80	130	.248	.364	.513	.878

The Brilliance of Mike Pelfrey

Mike Pelfrey continues to amaze Mets fans with his outstanding pitching. He tossed a complete game 3-hitter tonight and left 50,000 screaming Mets fans enraptured as he closed out the game in fine fashion.

Now 12-8 on the year, the Mets young stud leads the team in victories and continues to go deep into games to help the pitching staff.

He totally rewarded manager Jerry Manuel's confidence in him by punching out Chipper Jones and inducing two weak flyouts to finish the 9th inning in style.

Mike Pelfrey Stats

We'll have more in the morning, but suffice it to say that Mike Pelfrey was brilliant tonight.

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta (56-71)	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	3	2
N.Y. Mets (70-57) «	5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	x	6	6	0

Player of the Game

New York

M. Pelfrey	IP	9.0
	H	3
	ER	3
	BB	3
	K	3