NY Sports Dog: Luis Ayala
Showing posts with label Luis Ayala. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Luis Ayala. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Good Morning Mets Fans!

It's a team thing.

We'll add some accolades to the Carlos Delgado worship brigade a bit later on--he's earned it--but let's talk a little about the team yesterday.

  • 8 Mets, every non-pitching starter, had a hit
  • 6 Mets scored runs
  • 5 Mets had RBIs
  • 5 Mets had a multi-hit game
  • 4 consecutive relievers held the opposition to only one total hit and no runs
  • 3 Mets had homeruns
Ollie Perez started the game and pitched poorly. He had a very good fastball, but his slider was way off, and he couldn't get settled down after the Nats started hitting.

The Nats seem to hit Ollie well and last night was certainly no exception. He only lasted 3.1 innings and was charged with 7 earned runs.

"Today I didn't do my job," Perez said. "Good fastball, bad slider."

Nelson Figueroa allowed all his inherited runs to score, further adding to Ollie's total. I'm a fan of Nellie the person, and not a fan of Nellie the pitcher.

It just seems like the bad teams hit Ollie well--he has a 7.07 ERA against below-.500 teams this season. Luckily, none of those teams will make the playoffs.

But let's get to the good stuff, like Joe Smith pitching 1 2/3rds sparkling innings to get the win after it looked like the Mets bullpen was bent on giving the game away. Smith came in and shut them down.

Joe Smith has lowered his season ERA to 3.67 and has not allowed an earned run in his last 14 appearances. He is 2-0 in September with a 0.00 ERA and stands 6th in the NL in appearances....and he is 24 years old!

"Their pitchers also had problems getting the outs until they got to Smith and finally Ayala," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "Smith was the key. He stopped us."

So much good stuff--how about Carlos Beltran and the run he's on?

Beltran is hitting .385 in September after an August of .303. His power stroke is back, he is hitting in clutch situations, he's running, playing a sparkling centerfield, and there is no question he wants to get back to the postseason and put on a show.

Belran's blast last night, to go along with a double that banged high off the fence, was a key hit for the Mets. His 2 RBIs gave him 100 on the year, 5th in the NL, to go along with his 103 runs scored. So much for Beltran having an "off year"!

Jerry Manuel, who will most certainly be brought back as Mets Manager, seems to have settled on a lineup.

If you've been paying attention you've surely noticed that the "playoff push lineup" is Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis as the corner outfielders and Damion Easley at second base. Church bats second, Tatis 6th, and Easley 7th.

This is really the most potent group the Mets have offensively and will get better when Ramon Castro returns Friday to start against lefty's.

Ryan Church is back to form--he had another homerun last night, and he really seems relaxed at the plate. When he initially came back his timing was off and he was lunging at the ball. No longer. He is 4 for his last 9.

And there was Delgado...the Big Man...the thumper in the middle.

In his last 2 games he has 4 homeruns that traveled about 1,700 feet. In his last 13 games he has 4 multi-HR games. How about a .423 batting average, .483 OBP, and 1.000 Slg % in September?

He is 3rd in HRs and RBIs in the NL, absolutely an MVP candidate and is driving the club forward each and every day in his quest for a ring.

We'll close this out, just as the Mets did, with Luis Ayala, who earned his 6th save in 7 attempts with the Mets.

As my good friend Ira said last night, "where would the Mets be without Luis Ayala?"

Amen.

The Fightin' Fish beat the Phillies, so the Mets stand 2.5 games up with 18 left to play. It's a pretty simple mathematical formula from here on out called "just win baby!"

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Washington (56-89)0025100008121
N.Y. Mets (81-63) «02320300x10141
Player of the Game
New York

C. Delgado

AB

3

R

3

H

3

HR

2

RBI

3


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Monday, September 8, 2008

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Friday night I crashed your party
Saturday I said I'm sorry
Sunday came and trashed me out again
I was only having fun
Wasn't hurting anyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change.

And what a weekend it was!

Mets lose Friday, Saturday we get rained out, Sunday afternoon Pedro gets knocked around and Jamie Moyer shuts us down.

Then, just when the "choke" word was being bandied about by the more exasperated members of Met Nation (I didn't say idiots!), something happened.

That "something" is named Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana.

Johan Santana was an ace, a stopper, and maybe, just maybe, a bit more than that.

Jerry Manuel flashed the bat signal high above Gotham before last night's game and the medium sized man with the broad shoulders answered the call.

Johan Santana tossed 7 1/3 innings of 2 run baseball in the biggest start of his 2008 campaign. In getting the win he is now 13-7 with a sparkling 2.70 ERA. In his last 12 starts he is 6-0 with a 2.13 ERA.

"I knew I had to step it up," he said after the 6-3 victory over the Phillies that restored a two-game lead in the NL East. "This is one of the reasons why I'm here."

"That's why we have a Johan," Manuel said. "That's why you have an ace."

His performance was vintage Santana. He started the game somewhat slowly and allowed the Phils a run in the first inning while he fought with his control. The inning had the feel of a "crooked number" inning, but Santana fought and fought and escaped the jam nearly unscathed.

The only other run he allowed was an opposite field solo blast from slugger Ryan Howard on a pitch that missed his location by two inches--it was all Howard needed.

All in all he tossed 116 pitches worth of ace, and his teammates appreciated the effort.

"He did what an ace is supposed to do," said Delgado. "He stopped the bleeding."

As Santana walked off the mound in the 8th the sellout crowd at Shea showered him with applause and appreciation for a job exceptionally well done--Santana tipped his cap and settled in to watch his team finish the job.

While Santana did his thing from the mound, the real star of the night was Carlos Delgado.

In the first inning Delgado plated two with an sharp single up the middle--it was a foreshadowing of big things yet to come. All told the Mets scored 3 that inning and put the Phils back on their heels a bit.

In the third inning Phillies starter Cole Hamels hung a breaking ball over the middle of the plate and Delgado blasted it deep over the center field wall for a solo homerun. It was a significant shot because the Phils had narrowed the lead to a single run in the top of the frame.

Shea was buzzing over the blast, but the really big bomb was yet to come. In the bottom of the fifth Delgado again strode to the plate--Hamels was still in the game, the score was 4-2 Mets, and Shea was humming.

Hamels tried to fool Delgado on a slurvy looking changeup, but the ball came in right over the middle of the plate and Delgado crushed it--really crushed it. It was estimated at 460 feet and really, who knows how far it went? It was hit so far that it left the stadium and probably rolled to Citi Field. An awe inspiring, Ruthian blast that sent shockwaves through Shea.

The fans clamored for a curtain call, and the noise grew and grew until Delgado emerged from the dugout to a thunderous ovation and chants of "M-V-P! M-V-P!"

Delgado loved it, "It's way nicer than the boos," he said with a smile. "This isn't the kind of script that you wanted, but it's working out OK."

Carlos leads the Mets in HRs and is second in RBIs. He stands 3rd in the NL in dingers and 4th in RBIs and is making a case for consideration for MVP honors. There has been no better slugger since June 27th--he leads all of baseball in HRs and RBIs since that day--an amazing 65 RBIs in 65 games.

He also likes the Mets chances down the stretch, "We think we're the team to beat," Delgado said. "We feel very confident that we can get this done, definitely a different atmosphere here, a different feeling than it was last year."

But it wasn't all good news for the Mets yesterday. In addition to Pedro getting pounded in game 1, Billy Wagner pitches, felt pain in his elbow, and is more than likely done for the year.

Thankfully Luis Ayala, the former Washington National castoff, has pitched well in the closer spot. He earned his 6th save in 7 chances yesterday, and seems well-suited for the role with his ability to throw strikes early in the count.

As for this morning, enjoy the win, take a breath with another off-day today, and get ready for the Nats.

The Mets are 2 games up on the Phils with 19 left to play...there sure is nothing like a pennant race!

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Philadelphia (78-65)101000001372
N.Y. Mets (80-63) «30101001x6101
Player of the Game
New York

C. Delgado
AB 4
R 2
H 3
HR 2
RBI 4

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Good Morning Mets Fans!

There's something happening here,
What it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a bat over there,
Telling the NL East they got to beware.

The latest tune from The Buffalo Beltran is a sure-fire smash hit. In fact, it was a Grand Slam.

There's something happening here:

Yes my friends, there is something happening. It's called team baseball. The Mets are playing exactly that--picking each other up, even on a night when things didn't look like they'd go the Mets way.

Ollie Perez pitched a heck of a ballgame. 6 innings in which he only allowed 1 earned run. He walked 5, but that was in part to the ever changing strike zone of homeplate umpire Jerry Layne.

Still, Ollie continued his mastery of the Marlins, but left after 6 innings on the wrong side of a 2-1 deficit.

Ollie has been terrific in July and August, going deep into games and sporting a 2.55 ERA over his last 11 games. He did his job and gave the Mets a chance to win.

What it is aint exactly clear:

The Mets bullpen continues to have its ups and downs. The ups last night were Brian Stokes and Joe Smith, each of whom tossed a scoreless frame.

Joe Smith hasn't allowed a run in his last 9 appearances and earned the win last night. At the tender age of 24, Smith has already appeared in 121 big league games and has a 5-5 record with a 3.71 ERA.

Brian Stokes has been terrific. He has come along and proven he is a 1 or 2 inning reliever and spot starter who can get righty's and lefty's out. It's my opinion that Stokes should get the start against the Brewers, not John Niese. Dan Warthen also seems leery about starting the Mets young southpaw against the Brew Crew.

"The Milwaukee matchup, for me, is better for a right-handed pitcher," Warthen said before last night's game against the Marlins. "That's something we've certainly looked into. We've looked at the numbers. If we need another spot starter against Philadelphia or possibly against this ballclub, he would be the type of guy we'd use."

And then there's Luis Ayala. Luis decided to give Mets fans heart palpitations by allowing 4 hits and 2 runs in the 9th after the club had just taken the lead. We learned later on that Ayala had a tight hammy, but he gamely pitched on.

In earning his third save as a Met, Ayala allowed a Mike Jacobs pinch-hit RBI single and then had a long battle with Jorge Cantu. Cantu almost hit the game winning homerun, but thankfully, it hooked foul. When he hit it I thought it was gone and so did Daniel Murphy.

"I was screaming at it," leftfielder Daniel Murphy said.

Cantu's double down the leftfield line almost tied the game. As Daniel Murphy chased after the ball, Alfredo Amezega, who had entered the game as a pinch-runner, was screaming around the basepaths. Murphy approached the ball and slipped--somehow he kept enough balance to grab the ball and fire a strong throw back to the infield. In my opinion it was a game saving play.

"I left a pretty nice divot out there," Murphy said.

"That was a very, very big play for us [by Murphy] - a very big play," Manuel said. "That will probably go unnoticed, but that might have been the thing that saved us."

Jerry Manuel stuck with Ayala, and he got Wes Helms to ground out to Reyes to end the game.

There's a man with a bat over there:

A man named Carlos Beltran, but we'll get to him in a moment.

How about Luis Castillo! 2 outs, 9th inning, 2 strikes, and bam, single up the middle to keep hope alive. Then there was David Wright--the same David Wright that is scuffling a bit--single, two men on. Carlos Delgado gets plunked, and suddenly the bases are juiced and the tying and go ahead runs are on base.

Now if I'm the Marlins manager there is no way I leave Kevin Gregg in the game. It wasn't the Castillo and Wright at bats that bothered me--those were not "scary, my closer has nothing" type hits. But when you plunk the next guy on the first pitch to load the bases, you have to think something is wrong.

Thankfully for Mets fans, Gregg was left in for Beltran, and Carlos delivered, oh how he ever delivered.

First pitch, hanging splitter, Beltran's eyes opened as big as saucers, a smooth slightly uppercut swing, pure power, the ball explodes off his bat and we watch as it soars to rightfield...deep, deep, deep and gone! Grand slam--a thunderbolt hit that lit up the Florida sky and sent tremors up and down the National League East all the way to Philadelphia.

"Oh, man," a relieved Jerry Manuel said afterward. "Oh, man."

"I wasn't looking for anything in particular," Beltran said. "I was just thinking I needed to come through right there with a hit and at least tie the ballgame. As soon as I saw it, I hit it and knew it was gone."

"That's baseball," Beltran added. "We've been in that situation before. We didn't score early, but we scored when the team needed it the most."

Telling the NL East they got to beware:

The Phillies lost a heartbreaker, so the Mets now stand 2 games up on their rivals and 7 up on the Marlins.

Don't think for a minute that the Mets aren't scoreboard watching.

"I was happy because of the situation we're in right now," Beltran said. "The Phillies lost today. These are the teams we really need to beat - the Marlins, the Philadelphia Phillies - for us to move on."

The Mets win, the Mets win!!!

Big Pelf on the hill tonight--as you know, he's struggled with the Marlins this year, so a goos start by the Mets young star would provide and incredible boost right now....exciting times in Met Nation!

Enjoy your coffee!

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Good Morning Mets Fans! Johan Santana!

What is an Ace?

In the military, an Ace is a pilot with 5 confirmed kills. In baseball, it's a dominant #1 starting pitcher--someone capable of shutting down an opponent, no matter how hot they are, and leading his team to victory.

I believe it's an overused term in today's game, and that there are only about a dozen in all of MLB.

Johan Santana is one of them. Johan Santana is an ace.

Though only 20th in MLB in Wins, thanks in part to a leaky bullpen in several of his starts, he is 4th in ERA, 3rd in Innings Pitched, 10th in WHIP, and 11th in Ks.

He is a gamer, a battler, a proud and dedicated craftsman, and yes my friends, he really is a New York Met.

After shutting out the Pirates in a complete game masterpiece in his last outing, Santana hurled another gem last night against a game and gritty Houston Astro club and their own star pitcher Roy Oswalt.

After 6 innings of shutout ball Johan had thrown over 100 pitches and immediately went to Jerry Manuel in the Mets dugout to make his case for a 7th inning.

"Johan had mentioned that the other guy was still out there," Manuel said with a laugh. "I thought that, for what he's done on the mound, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I thought that was only fair to him."

“I told Jerry I felt good,” Santana said. “I was there. I was throwing strikes.”

Santana got his way and put up another zero in the 7th. All told he tossed a career high 121 pitches and further endeared himself to the Shea faithful, who rewarded the star with a well-deserved ovation as he walked back to the dugout, spent, but happy.

"Right now, we've got a great momentum going and everything is right there in front of us, so I know I need to do my part to help out," Santana said. "At this point in the season, you want to show you're able to go deep in the game. We need that now even more because we don't have Billy, so what happened tonight was very satisfying."

Santana was helped along by Jose Reyes, who led the game off with a single and scored on a David Wright bloop single, and Brian Schneider, who cracked his 3rd homerun in 5 games. His dinger plated Ryan Church, who got on base with a hustle single dribbled down the third base line.

It sure was good to see Ryan Church back--the fans rose to their collective feet when he came to bat for the first time--it was more evidence that this team, this group of hustling, gritty professionals, have endeared themselves to the fanatics that pack the house day after day. Any lingering affects of last year's collapse have been fully exorcised.

The bullpen threw another strong outing--Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala combined for two scoreless, hitless, walkless innings that featured 3 strikeouts.

Both pitchers looked dominant, and Ayala was simply awesome.

Brian Schneider, who knows Ayala very well from their time together with the Nats, agrees. “Coming here has given him a little hope,” Schneider said. “Sometimes change is good.”

In other news Luis Castillo joins the club for today's game and has been given back his starting second base job.

It will be very interesting to see if the change in chemistry impacts the club. Bottom line is that even though Castillo's replacements performed admirably, Luis is a high OBP guy with speed, and if he's physically fit, he can be a more consistent offensive player than Argenis Reyes and allow Damion Easley to be part of an increasingly strong bench.

John Maine on the hill tonight--watch him closely and see if gets the zip back on his fastball.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Houston (64-64)000000000080
N.Y. Mets (72-57) «12000000x340

New York Mets
Jose Reyes, SS4110000 .300
Argenis Reyes, 2B2000000 .264
David Wright, 3B3011000 .295
Carlos Delgado, 1B3000011 .260
Carlos Beltran, CF3000011 .270
Daniel Murphy, LF3000010 .380
Aaron Heilman, P0000000 .000
Luis Ayala, P0000000 .000
Ryan Church, RF3110000 .308
Brian Schneider, C3112010 .257
Johan Santana, P2000020 .136
Endy Chavez, LF1000000 .272
Totals2734306

Batting
HR - Brian Schneider (5, Oswalt)
SH - Argenis Reyes (4)
RBI - David Wright (99), Brian Schneider 2 (27)
Team LOB - 1
New York Mets
Johan Santana (W,12-7) 7800150 2.64
Aaron Heilman (H,14) 1000010 5.40
Luis Ayala (S,1) 1000020 5.49
Pitches-Strikes - Johan Santana 121-86, Aaron Heilman 17-9, Luis Ayala 11-10
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Johan Santana 6-10, Aaron Heilman 2-0, Luis Ayala 1-0
Batters Faced - Johan Santana 30, Aaron Heilman 3, Luis Ayala 3

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Some games just get the juices flowing, and last night's thrilling come from behind victory over the Braves was certainly one of them.

Ollie Perez started for the Mets and didn't have his best stuff. He gutted it out and only gave up 3 runs in 6 2/3, but he also walked 5 and gave up 7 hits.
Still, he battled all the way, and the Braves scored all 3 of their runs in the third inning.

The old Ollie might have imploded early on, but this "Post Peterson" version did everything he could and somehow managed to put up a bunch of zeros for his team before exiting in the 7th with runners on first and third and one out, and the Mets on the wrong side of the score in a 3-2 game.


"I was all over the place," said Perez, "but the guys picked me up."

Newly acquired Luis Ayala had his "welcome to the Mets moment." It was a huge spot--one where the Mets bullpen hasn't always succeeded in recent times.


Taking the ball from his countryman, Ayala immediately knocked down Omar Infante with his first pitch. He mixed in a plus fastball with his signature sinker and got both Infante and Brian McCann to hit short popups.
Absolutely changed the entire feel of the game. The Braves went from poised to extend their lead, to frustration and tightness.

The Shea faithful rewarded the newcomer with a thundering, and well-deserved, ovation.

"That probably kind of changed the momentum right there," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "To hold them right there probably was the turning point in the game."

The bullpen was efficient the rest of the way. Aaron Heilman pitched the 8th, and Scott Shoeneweis took his turn in the 9th in the "closer by committee" lottery. He had an outstanding inning.

"It was nice to be on the other end of one of those games," Schoeneweis said. "Somebody else's bullpen gave it up and ours didn't. Amazing how that works sometimes."

After Heilman held the Braves in check, the Mets stormed out in the 8th and opened the floodgates. The surging first-place Mets loaded the bases twice and did something they haven't done often with the sacks full this year--they delivered.

Carlos Delgado had the big hit--a smoked opposite field double that banged loudly off the fence and plated two.

Mr. Professional , Damion Easley, added to the fun after Fernando Tatis was intentionally walked. Easley hit a solid line drive single that plated two more. Ramon Castro joined in the fun with an RBI double.

All told the Mets scored 5 and pulled victory from the jaws of defeat---a championship caliber 8th inning effort.

"Good teams win these kinds of games," said Delgado. "They find a way to battle back and win these games. You're not going to win them all, but it's nice when you do."

It was a thrilling, scintillating, pump up the players and fans type of win, and it kept the Mets 1.5 games up on Philly and stretched the lead over the fading Fish to 4.5 games.

Of course it wasn't all good news for the Mets (is it ever?)...the inflammation in closer Billy Wagner's elbow is getting worse, not better, and he is shut down indefinitely. His teammates realize how important he is, but they also believe in themselves and their ability to get the job done.

"This is about picking each other up," Delgado said. "Billy's a big part of our bullpen, but we've got to do what we can do until he comes back."

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Atlanta (56-70)003000000390
N.Y. Mets (69-57) «20000005x780
Player of the Game
New York

C. Delgado
AB 4
R 1
H 1
HR 0
RBI 2

New York Mets
Jose Reyes, SS2100300 .303
Nick Evans, LF3120101 .276
Endy Chavez, PR-RF1100003 .270
David Wright, 3B2101121 .291
Carlos Beltran, CF4120000 .275
Carlos Delgado, 1B4112012 .255
Fernando Tatis, RF-LF3111100 .294
Damion Easley, 2B4012012 .262
Ramon Castro, C3011100 .263
Oliver Perez, P2000011 .122
Luis Ayala, P0000000 .000
a- Daniel Murphy, PH1000000 .419
Aaron Heilman, P0000000 .000
b- Argenis Reyes, PH1000002 .272
Scott Schoeneweis, P0000000 .000
Totals3078775

a-grounded out for Ayala in the 7th
b-lined out for Heilman in the 8th
Batting
2B - Carlos Delgado (25, Ohman), Fernando Tatis (11, Reyes), Ramon Castro (6, Tavarez)
SF - David Wright (9)
RBI - David Wright (96), Carlos Delgado 2 (81), Fernando Tatis (37), Damion Easley 2 (37), Ramon Castro (24)
2-OUT RBI - Fernando Tatis (8)
Team LOB - 7
Fielding
DP - Wright-Reyes-Easley
New York Mets
Oliver Perez 6.1733530 3.93
Luis Ayala 0.2000000 5.71
Aaron Heilman (W,3-7) 1100100 5.48
Scott Schoeneweis 1100000 2.98
IBB - Jones by Oliver Perez
Pitches-Strikes - Oliver Perez 114-66, Luis Ayala 8-4, Aaron Heilman 20-11, Scott Schoeneweis 14-10
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Oliver Perez 7-8, Aaron Heilman 1-2
Batters Faced - Oliver Perez 30, Luis Ayala 2, Aaron Heilman 5, Scott Schoeneweis 4
Game Information

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Mets Trade for Luis Ayala

The Mets have made a trade, acquiring RHP Luis Ayala from the Nationals in exchange for 2B Anderson Hernandez.

Ayala is expected to join the team in Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Luis Ayala stats:

Career: Batting | Pitching | Fielding
SEASON TEAM G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO W L SV HLD BLSV ERA
2003 Mon 65 0 0 0 71.0 65 27 23 8 13 46 10 3 5 19 3 2.92
2004 Mon 81 0 0 0 90.1 92 30 27 6 15 63 6 12 2 21 5 2.69
2005 Was 68 0 0 0 71.0 75 23 21 7 14 40 8 7 1 22 2 2.66
2007 Was 44 0 0 0 42.1 43 16 15 5 12 28 2 2 1 6 1 3.19
2008 Was 62 0 0 0 57.2 63 41 37 6 22 36 1 8 0 19 4 5.78
Total -- 320 0 0 0 332.1 338 137 123 32 76 213 27 32 9 87 15 3.33

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Related Posts with Thumbnails