Mar
22
2012

Mets Take Down Astros 8-2, Dickey Flirts With A Spring No-No

An article by Satish Ram

R.A. Dickey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning today and looked to be in mid-season form as the Mets took care of business with the Astros, 8-2.

Summary

What else can be said about R.A. Dickey that has not already been said in the form of a compliment or a pun?

He pitched into the 7th today, going 6 and a third innings and allowing only a single with three walks. He struck out four, including his last batter in the seventh. I feel confident knowing that if he is not our ace, R.A. Dickey is a solid #2 starter on this staff and could very well be an ace for some teams. Edgin took over after Dickey, who pitched longer than expected and deprived us of a Fernando Cabrera appearance, and finished the 7th while picking up a K. Ramon Ramirez followed with a scoreless eighth, allowing only a hit and picking up a strikeout as well.

Take notice of this, however: Francisco came in to pitch in the ninth and allowed another run off 2 hits, which means he has allowed a run in 5/7 appearances this spring and at least 2 baserunners in each of those 5 appearances. That leads up to a 6.43 Spring E.R.A.

Ruben Tejada led off the bottom of the first with a bang, as he took opposing starter Wandy Rodriguez deep to put the Mets on the board right off the bat. Rodriguez did not have it today, as he walked in a run in the 1st and 4th innings as well. 3 Houston errors today led to 3 unearned runs, and the Mets were 5-14 with RISP – good to see, even in Spring Training.

Omar Quintanilla drilled a 3 RBI 2B in the 7th to do some damage to Escalona, who was not on his game today. Jason Bay singled, scored, and stole a base again – but he also struck out on a pitch outside. 11 hits overall for the Metsies today, but only Vinny Rottino and Rob Johnson banged out multiple ones. Rough day for Lucas May, who took in some time at 3B and left 7 men on base today.

Defense went by well today – if there’s nothing bad to say about it, I assume it would be a good thing. Another DP turned from the Murph/Tejada duo, so they are getting some practice in.

Hero Of The Game

R.A. Dickey for teasing us by flirting with a no-hitter and pitching excellent, as always.

Notes

Adam Loewen came in today and struck out…again. That gives him 15 in 31 ABs, 10 in his last 10 games where he’s batting .118. I do not have a persona agenda against him – I am just keeping tabs on him because he is basically guaranteed a bench spot and I am going to be worried if our of our main pinch-hitting or bench options is a K machine.

I think Josh Satin is going to develop into an excellent hitter. His mechanics are pretty good. On the same topic of young players impressing me, Josh Edgin continues to rock, Ike Davis looks great, and it was good to see Tejada take one deep today. For the record, I do want Olson over Edgin as Byrdak’s temporary replacement, but I love what I am seeing from Edgin so far.

Valdespin saw some time in CF today.

Dickey had a 10-3 GO/FO ratio today – even when he walks a few guys, as a knuckleballer, he still manages to keep the ball down for a high groundball ratio.

On Deck

Mets take on the Braves tomorrow with Jon Niese toeing the rubber for the Amazins. Miguel Batista, Daniel Herrera, and Josh Edgin are all expected to pitch, so keep your eye on those potential bullpen candidates. 1:05 start.

About the Author: Satish Ram

I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.

7 Comments + Add Comment

srt March 22, 2012 at 5:47 pm

Dickey certainly looks ready to go.
Francisco, not so much.

Still waiting for Bay to find his bat.

Astros really don’t have much talent on that team. Crane’s got some work to do.
Metfan Lou March 22, 2012 at 5:49 pm

Santana, Dickey,Gee, Niese and Pelfrey. Not a bad starting four until Harvey can get here. As a side note, Larry “Chipper” Jones announced this is his last year. He said he would play the whole 2012 season or until he hits 20 home runs at Citi Field whichever comes first. (I threw that last part in.) Love him or hate him he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. Pretty good ballplayer.
Mr North Jersey March 22, 2012 at 6:07 pm

Nice outing from Dickey. Got his work in and looked good doing it. Wright working his way back and Tejada seems to be over his pulled groin.
Mr North Jersey March 22, 2012 at 8:10 pm

Off Topic: Hey Hitman check it you kid Vaughn. Yoga & Pilatis.

http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=20248305&topic_id=21536544&tcid=vpp_copy_20248305&v=3
USMF March 23, 2012 at 8:32 am

I love RAD…he pitches like no other knuckle-baller has and has a great attitude…

Murph is doing better, but he still looks a little “unsure” what to do when the ball is hit to him…I have seen some really good feeds from Murph to SS to start the double play. Maybe I’ve just missed it, but I haven’t seen a SS/3rd to Murph to first double play…that worries me a little because that’s one major play that I’d really like to see to feel better about Muprh at 2nd.

As for Bay, while I’m not happy about where he is now…he’s been looking better at the plate. He had a nice solid single in the 1st, he did ground in a double play, but it was a hard hit grounder…he looks to be more selective at the plate and even his strike out wasn’t his typical waving at a bad pitch and pulling off like we’ve seen in the past two years.
- stick March 23, 2012 at 9:07 am
  
  Murphy is cetainly going to continue to be a work in progress. I expect to see a mix of spectacular plays and brain farts. But, you can practice/drill all you want, but some things you only learn through game reps (becoming 2nd nature). I don’t, however, think he will ever get brownie points for being graceful!
  
  Bay? I have no expectations of him being good again. I think you pretty much said it all, when you were looking for positives in his DP GB being well struck, and his K not waiving at quite so bad of a pitch! He has the smell of washed up all over him.
  - USMF March 23, 2012 at 10:03 am
    
    It’s too bad, in no way was I trying to be condescending to Bay in any way…I really like the guy and I feel for him. Other than watching the pitching, his ABs are the one thing I find myself watching closely this spring.
    
    I relate to Bay, a few years back to started playing baseball again after 13 years away from the game. I was never a great hitter when I was young, but I struggled my fist year back…I had some really good games, but I K’ed a lot too. I got cut from the team the next year and picked up on another team. That whole year, I wanted to prove that I could still play the game and tried everything I could to get better. I over thought every AB… I changed my stance, changed my hands, changed my swing, I opened up, then closed up, I changed my head position, moved my hands, moved closer to the plate, then backed far away. I did one change every time I went to the plate…non of it worked…I had my worst season ever…it wasn’t until one game late in the season that I was warming up in the pen and had to run in quickly to bat…I didn’t have time to do any thinking…I was just worried about getting back to warming up…I got out, but made real good contact…I then just went back to what was the most conferrable and stuck with it…I did much better hitting the next year…and last year, I moved up in the plate a bit and had my best power numbers ever…
    
    This is the problem I’ve seem with Bay…you can’t get a hit every time out…you’re gonna have slumps and hot streaks…but you can’t “fix” you approach every time you go to the plate.

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	23	18	.561	-
Nationals	23	19	.548	0.5
Phillies	20	22	.476	3.5
Mets	16	23	.410	6.0
Marlins	11	31	.262	12.5

Last updated: 05/18/2013

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