What Mets fans talk about when not talking about the actual games.
In 2008, before knee surgery and elbow surgery, Santana’s fastball sat in the lows 90s and his changeup induced strikeouts 22.4 percent of the time, according to pitch tracking data from TexasLeaguers.com. Here in 2010? His fastball sits in the high 80s.
His changeup causes swinging strikes 15.8 percent of the time. His strikeout rate (6.51) is the lowest in his time as a starter.
via Mets ace Johan Santana needs shoulder surgery after MRI reveals tear | NJ.com.
“I’m getting my innings in behind the plate here,” Thole said. I need to come in and I need to be healthy. That’s the bottom line. I’ve got to come in fully strong, ready to go. There can’t be any doubt, any question in my mind.”
via Mets catcher Josh Thole plans to skip Venezuelan Winter League | NJ.com.
Pelfrey also took what Wilpon called a “leader” role earlier this week, when the Mets visited war veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. According to Wilpon, Pelfrey wrote “mandatory” on the visiting clubhouse’s message board at Nationals Park the day before Tuesday’s scheduled trip.
“It wasn’t mandatory from management’s standpoint, but the players themselves decided it should be mandatory,” Wilpon said. “Mike took it upon himself to be a leader and wrote down, ‘mandatory.'”
via New York Mets’ Mike Pelfrey, David Wright, Jeff Wilpon visit firehouse adjacent to Ground Zero.
They teach us in blogger school not to assume that everyone reads the same blogs so I’m going to asssume it’s possible you didn’t already see this on Metsblog. Regardless, this is sort of a big story so I figured it was worth the embed.
Good morning Mets fans – I have to run out the door to soccer practice, so lest you think I live on a world where Santana doesn’t exist – I’ll be killing time at soccer very shortly.
September 11, 1987. This is one Mets game I can never forget. The Mets had injury problems you wouldn’t believe (unless you were alive in 2009), almost brought Tom Seaver back, and scratched and clawed all the way back….they were going to catch the Cardinals after all that…and then Terry Pendleton stepped to the plate as Osh41 and I stood out in right field on the Field Level at Shea…
Daaar-ryl, Daaar-ryl,” sang the faithful, and Darryl Strawberry came out of the dugout to acknowledge the cheering after his two-run homer in the first inning. “Mooo-kie, Mooo-kie,” the fans crooned after Moookie Wilson hit a home run in the second, and Wilson’s wife, Rosa, sitting behind home plate, hugged the guy next to her, who happened to be Richard Nixon. “Ho-Jo, Ho-Jo,” the crowd bayed at the man standing on second base in the fourth, and Howard Johnson tipped his cap after a successful steal that made him the eighth player, and first balding infielder, to join the 30/30 Club for those players who amass 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season. “Sweep, sweep,” they chirped.
Chops were being licked all over Shea Stadium last Friday night as the New York Mets, leading the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 in the ninth, closed to within one out, one strike even, of slicing the Cards’ first-place lead in theNational League East to a measly half game.
From SI’s “Take That!” – you youngsters will definitely want to read it.
