Category: mets

TODAY’S METS STARTER RHP MIKE PELFREY: Tossed 3.0 inningson February 28 vs. Washington, allowingfive hits, two runs, one earned, with onestrikeout…He is also slated to be the Mets’Opening Day starter on April 1 at FloridaLast season, Pelfrey went 15-9 with a…3.66 ERA (83 earned runs/204.0 inningspitched) in 34 games, 33 starts…He alsoearned his first career save when heclosed out the Mets’ 2-1, 20-inning win overthe St. Louis Cardinals on April 17 at BuschStadium…Closed the season strong, going2-0 with a 2.27 ERA (nine earned runs/35.2innings) in his final five starts of 2010…Wentat least 7.0 innings in all of those starts andallowed more than two runs only once…Forhis career, Pelfrey is 43-41 with a 4.31 ERA(327 earned runs/683.0 innings) in 116games, 113 starts…He has two completegames and is the only Mets starter to makeat least 30 starts in the past three seasons…Pelfrey set career highs in innings(204.0), strikouts (113), ERA (3.66), wins(15) and starts (33) last season.

 

MATT HARVEY TO PITCH:  Righthandedpitcher Matt Harvey, the Mets 2010 firstround pick is expected to pitch today as theMets minor leaguers play Team Italy at 10:30a.m. on one of the minor league fields… Harvey went 8-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 14games as a junior last year with the University of North Carolina…In 96.0 innings,the seventh overall pick in the 2010 draft, allowed 80 hits, 42 runs, 33 earned, with 35walks and 102 strikeouts…Harvey held opponents to a .224 batting average.

MIKE PIAZZA: Former Mets All-Star catcherMike Piazza will be at the game coaching forTeam Italy against the Mets minor leaguers…Piazza played for Team Italy in the2006 World Baseball Classic and was acoach on the squad in the 2009 WBC. WHO’S HOT: NICK EVANS is hitting .429(6-14) while  FERNANDO MARTINEZ is batting .600 (6-10)…DANIEL MURPHY,RUSS ADAMS and  RUBEN TEJADA leadthe team with three RBI…WILLIE HARRIS ishitting .375 (3-8) with four runs scored, onehome run and two RBI…The Mets as a teamare hitting .270 (64-237)…CHRIS YOUNGhas tossed 5.0 innings without permitting anearned run…JASON ISRINGHAUSEN hasfired 2.0 scoreless frames.

 

Over at Amazin’ Avenue, James offers (his title) A tepid defense of the black jerseys.

I enjoyed the article. I get his point that “his” Mets wore black. It’s a real point, and one that increases my sense of urgency. Black needs to stay a dumb aberration, not the norm. (I imagine the A’s Police losing a similar battle against green, after all the great Philly teams wore blue.)

I agree that black looks nice on some civilians. No problem. Sell whatever, but the baseball team should look like a baseball team. Insert my “Yankees sell plenty of stuff” argument and my “Have ‘Anything Goes’ Sunday” where the Mets can wear black, green, shorts, throwbacks, Mercury or whatever they feel like selling. In fact I think that quirky Sunday jerseys could become a tradition and actually increase both merchandise and ticket sales. I might show up at Hawaiian Shirt Jersey Sunday and would probably buy the jersey.

As for black honoring the Giants? Puh-leez. That’s right up there with the green seats honoring the Polo Grounds. Next you will try to sell me the Shea bridge.

What’s most important is that my day in day out constant compaining about this issue has started a discussion….and actually important people are having similar discussions.

Every now and then I hear a tidbit or two, and with the 50th anniversary celebration coming up I am very hopeful that sometime later this year I will post the long-awaited article that starts with the VJ Day photo of the sailor kissing the woman in Times Square.

Future Hall of Famer Jon Niese is focused…

From a well written piece in Sports Illustrated?..addressing the trash television project Gooden is part of.

Well, Dwight Gooden needs to learn that his life does have meaning. That he no longer has to carry the emotional baggage of being Dr. K; that, come day’s end, it’s OK to live humbly and simply and anonymously without signing a single autograph or retelling, for the 12,471st time, the story of Game 6 of the ’86 World Series.
You can help him, Dr. Drew.
You can leave him alone.