6
2012
SAN-TASTIC! Mets Ace Fuels 1-0 Victory Over Braves
An article by 
And so it begins…
Johan Santana pitched 5 great innings in his first start back from surgery and an RBI single in the sixth put the Mets on the path to an Opening Day victory.
Summary
So a surprising way to pull off an Opening Day victory nonetheless, but I will take every single win we get this year.
Santana took the mound today against Tommy Hanson and out-dueled him for the most part, getting through 5 innings on 84 pitches, 50 of them for strikes. He probably could have gone longer into the game, but he was on a pitch count today and does need to take it easy on the path back from his surgery. 2 H, 2 BB, and 5 K rounded out the line for Santana. Ramon Ramirez took over after and completed an inning and a third, allowing two hits and a walk but managed to vulture the win for the Mets because the only run was scored in the sixth. Byrdak took over with a man left on third and one out after Ramirez and K’d back to back batters. Excellent pitching by the man who showed no signs of coming off recent surgery, either. Rauch and Francisco combined for a perfect 8th and 9th to finish up the game.
Although the Braves were stifled offensively, the Mets got by on their seven hits and four walks. Two hits each for Murphy, Wright, Thole and a single from Hairston covered the entire offense.
Wright singled home Torres in the sixth to score their run and that was that. Davis and Duda had the 0-4 collar on them today with a pair of strikeouts each. Only XBH hit today was a Murphy double.
No errors today for the Mets who looked fine in their revamped ballpark and no DPs turned – while Uggla booted a play for an error on the ATL side.
Hero Of The Game
Johan Santana, who gave us some reason to feel good about his future, and pitched 5 shutout innings. The pitching staff overall combined for a 4-hit shutout.
Notes
It could never be all good for us, could it? Andres Torres left the game with a strained calf and was replaced by Scott Hairston. He will be heading to the DL. Hairston, Byrdak, and Santana all looked fine today coming off injuries, however.
The Braves were without Chipper Jones today.
So to reiterate, Ramirez with the W, Byrdak and Rauch with holds, Francisco with save number 1, and Hanson gets saddled with the loss.
On Deck
The Mets take a well deserved day off tomorrow and continue their series with the Braves on Saturday afternoon at 1:10 with R.A. Dickey looking to give the Mets a series win against Jair Jurrjens.
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.
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Didn’t expect Johan to pitch more than 90 pitches so you couldn’t ask for much more for his first outing of the season. Great to see.
Had no confidence that BP was going to hold a 1 run lead. Don’t mind being wrong on this one.
Wright coming through today with what turned out to be the game winning hit.
Great start.
We shutout the Braves! Nuff said!
Very nice to see…
Santana is the man…
The Pen looked great after shaky spring…
Thole looked great hitting and catching…
Wright had a clutch hit…
I know he had no hits, but Bay didn’t K by waving a pitches on the outside corner. He had a deep drive that probably would have been HR in the summer time. I will say that the “old” CityField, that would have been 5-10 ahead of the warning track instead of a few steps before the wall.
And for those keeping score, Muprh’s bat helping the team 1, his bad D make the team lose 0.
USMF: Was Wright’s hit clutch?
There are some here who will say No, and give no good reason
There are some who will say No because they don’t believe in clutch hits
Me?
That was a clutch hit. A clutch hit is in the eye of the beholder. If you “believe” there is such a thing as a clutch hit and do not consider Wright’s RBI as clutch then you just are looking for ways to negate anything and everything he does
Good for wright, Clutch at bat AFTER failing to come trough in the first inning.. But of course, you only point out the goods right?? What was your reaction when he hit a weak fly ball to right with men on 1st and 2nd? Nothing?? NO? Thank you..
So Wright has to bat 1.000 for the year for him to get any kind of credit from you huh?
Good god can you just be happy that Wright had a clutch hit? LOL. The better he does the better the Mets do and the more likely one of us can get our wish.
Shouldn’t you be dogging your own boy right now. 0-8, 3K’s, 6 left on base.
Shouldn’t you be dogging your own boy right now. 0-8, 3K’s, 6 left on base”
Thanks for the heads up, i was unaware of his stat line… BUT, like i said before, i bet $200 or even more that he’ll have a better season than wright with you, but of course, you’re not a man like that so…
I have told you to come up with the terms. Hell when Wright has had a good season you guys have said he did not. So how are you going to determine who has a better season? Even as bad as he was Wright certainly had a better season last year but I am sure you would find some way to say he didn’t.
Ok, Better BA, more HR’s, More RBI’s and runs.. If we tied on 2 categories then we use OBP as tie breaker… Deal??????
I will think about OPS+ that’s the only one that would be a fair measure considering the difference in parks, pitchers, etc.
That being said, would it not feel wrong to you for you to be rooting against one of the Mets and for a player of another team? Or are you so used to rooting against Wright that it’s second nature?
SIGH……….. Never mind man,it’s good friday and i don’t feel like arguing or fighting with anyone today… LGM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL, it would be a better Friday if MLB didn’t mess with the schedule. So you are not big on the OPS+? LOL.
No, I expect a 280 to be good, but my point is you came in instigating about the clutch situation yet mention NOTHING about him failing in the first inning…Enjoy the win because there will be few than in other years and don’t be such a FDB…
Because Alex, I am a Mets fan! I don’t CARE or HARP on when they fail. It’s a waste of time. You’re supposed to ROOT and be HAPPY when they succeed not say “hey good job but way to screw it up with your last at bat.”
What is the point? Who wants to go through life being a miserable fan who only focuses on everything negative?
I have 0 interest in rushing to MMO to celebrate or discuss a FAILURE by a Mets player when they WON and that same played was the one with the GW RBI.
Try being a Mets fan rather than a fan of negativity next time
I have 0 interest in rushing to MMO to celebrate or discuss a FAILURE by a Mets player when they WON and that same played was the one with the GW RBI”
Yet the first thing you do is ask/tell USFM how wright’s was clutch and right away started saying how some would consider not to be etc.. All i said was that you forgot how he failed in the first inning, i too am a mets fan, i see things for what they are, he’s an ok player, not a leader, a superstar or anything else you guys wanna peg him to be, he’s someone who in big spots FOLDS like no other, that is all i have said about him and i am sticking to it UNTIL he proves me wrong, and i hope he does.. simple as that..
See the difference between you and I is…you are a fan of rooting against the team you love. You’re only happy when you’re miserable about the Mets. If Wright strikes out 4 times tomorrow you’ll be happier than you are today when he got a GW RBI.
You love to hate the Mets because if things were going well, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself. You NEED something to complain about.
Wright gets a GW RBI? So what? He failed in the 1st inning. Yeah, that’s a fans perspective alright.
You’re such a FDB you know that right? I said how nice of you to just point out the good on wright.. I for one wanna be wrong as hell about my prediction of 69 wins for this team, good for wright that he ended up having the GW rbi, great job by the bullpen and santana, just be happy we won and stop being such a FDB!!!!
LOL, I think maybe you should take your last sentence to heat.
There was only a runner on 2nd, not 1st and 2nd. Also, funny how, if he did do it in the first, you’d hear, “he only comes through early in the game when it doesn’t count”. Since when is the 1st inning included in ‘clutch”?
Let’s see, there were men on 1st and 3rd, no out, 6th inning… game 0-0 he comes trough.. YAY!!!!!!!
Even if he GIDP but the run scores a bunch of you would’ve consider that a clutch at bat..
Since they change the terms all the time. It was that early season was not clutch and only September was, then it was the entire season, then it was only in late innings, then it was only with RISP late, then early, then the entire season, then it was RISP2/O, then those were not a true measure of clutch, and then it was I don’t care if all those stats show something different I see it with MY EYES< MY EYES I tell you.
Wow, one game and all the same no win, subjective arguments come out.
I understand the Wright ‘non-clutch” arguments…the past few years, Wright approach at that plate caused him to fail consistently in the big spot.
The problem is, we can’t define clutch because it’s so subjective and you can’t be clutch without your teammates backing you up.
Whose hit was the most clutch?
-Wrights RBI?
-Torres hit to get on base to score the run?
-Murph’s 2 strike hit to move Torres into scoring position?
-Because Bay walked to load the bases instead of chasing bad pitches, was that clutch”? (Probably not) but I heard guys on SNY bashing Bay for walking in that spot, but he never got anything to swing at. What was he supposed to do? Is taking a walk instead of swinging at a bad pitch and K’ing or grounding out any less clutch?
-Couldn’t you argue that any hit in a tie game is clutch?
-Did the excellent work by Santana and the bull pen make Wrights hit more or less clutch?
-Bay hit two hard hit ground balls that if were hit to the right by two feet, they would have been hits, and if Wright’s hit was to the left a couple of feet, it would have been an out. How can we judge “clutchness” when we are talking about milliseconds differences in timing?
-Bay hit a long drive that came up short with runners on while he had two strikes on him, no it won’t be considered clutch, but was it non-clutch? or did he break even? I mean he didn’t wave at strike three or ground out weakly to short, he made pretty good contact that came up short.
-Can a guy really score 80runs and/or 100RBI without being a little clutch?
-How many times do you have to get that big hit to be considered “clutch”? especially when failing 2 of 3 times gets you in to the HOF.
-Is a run in the 1st worth less that a run in the 6th or 9th?
I personally try to look at it in two ways….
1. If a guy contributed to a win, no matter if it was a two out Grand slam in the 9th or a hit in the 1st to move a runner into scoring position…it’s a team game, all players need to contribute. Look at game 6, whose hit was the most “Clutch”?
2. To me a clutch player is the guy I want on the bump or at the plate when game is on the line. Sure, everyone is going to fail at times, while they will also succeed at times too. It’s about who you FEEL is the best guy in that situation.
Wright hasn’t been that guy the past few years, though I think was once that at one time. We can argue why that’s the case, but the past isn’t as important as the future. If Wright keeps the approach that I saw yesterday, then I have a very good feeling about him.
You raise some very good points here. Which all leads back to ‘clutch’ being subjective, as you said.
‘Look at game 6, whose hit was the most “Clutch”?’
Most non Met fans will forever remember Mookie’s at bat and the ball going through Buckner’s legs. Buckner doesn’t make that error, it’s anyone’s guess if he beats Mookie to the bag. If he does, game remains tied and goes on. Who knows if the Mets win?
For those of us who saw it, the 3 singles before Mookie were what kept that inning alive and allowed the tying run to score during Mookie’s at bat. Anyone one of them don’t get a hit, game and series over.
SRT,
You make some very good points on your own about game six. I’d like to add something that was just as important to the Mets making that two-out comeback as those three singles that won’t get lose in the box score. It was the look of fear on Calvin Schiraldi’s face trying to nail down that final out. It was Bob Stanley having control problems before that pitch that went to the backstop. It was also the webbing of Bill Buckner’s very soft glove being stopped by the infield dirt that caused the ball to go through his legs – he was in position, his hands were in the correct area to catch it, but the infield dirt caused his glove to be two or three inches out of position.
So who is the real hero of the come from behind victory? Possibly the grounds crew who could have made the dirt a bit too hard near the first base area. LOL
hahaha – the grounds crew. I love it. We should look those guys up and give them a ring!
I saw that Game 6 special on MLB network last year on the countdown to the 20 Greatest Games. Buckner, Mookie, Bobby O where there. I listened to Buckner’s explanation of why that ball went through. Wasn’t exactly sure what he was saying, had to listen twice. I got the impression to this day Buckner isn’t exactly sure what happened there…..As a Met fan, I’m just thankful it did.
Eh Mookie still says he would have been safe. LOL.
Hi Srt,
On that 20 Greatest Game segment on MLB, they showed the video on the play from behind Buckner, zooming in on the glove. It was apparent that the edge of the glove did indeed stop in motion as Bill was getting himself set to catch the ball. Fantastic bit of history and indeed back luck on his part. The ball went right past the area where Buckner’s glove had been pulled in by the dirt. Had the leather not been as soft, it would have landed right in the pocket.
I too wonder if Mookie would have been able to beat him racing to the bag but at least we all know now that the final play did not come from Bill either being unable to get to the ball or had his eye too much on Mookie running hard instead.
This is what makes baseball so great. Of course, I’d feel lousy if it happened to us and not the BoSox. Of course, we all kind of know the feeling with Timo Perez not running hard and being thrown out in the first game of the 2000 Subway Series.
Oh no doubt, I had this debate all the time on Metsblog when I was not even sure about how much clutch even existed or if it did then over the course of sample size good players’ clutch stats all even out and bad players clutch stats do as well.
Even Reggie Jackson’s post seasons numbers evened out to his career norms. When you look at Wright’s career stats with RISP, RISP2/O, late and close, High leverage, they all about even out to his career averages. Those do change from year to year and game to game though because of sample size and situations. Do I think that Wright has been affected by the pressure more since the collapse? I think so. Do I think that with more AB’s in clutch situations his numbers will continue to match career norms? I think so.
One Mets win down, 161 more to go….LETS GO METS!
It was great to see. Torres came in on Wright’s hit and Johan and the pen was light’s out. A four-hit shutout, a 1-0 win. Great o see.
Should add, would have like to see more offense, but you only need to score one more than the opposition, and the pitching was stellar.
Nice RBI hit by David Wright to win the game. It doesn’t matter who was on base.
Torres will not be making any headlines by being on base but the guy who does the last action and closes the deal is the one responsible for the win
All the shows I’m watching are talking about Wright and his hit, not who was on base. As it should be.
Yes because Torres being on base didn’t matter. SMH In fact if he wasn’t there, Wright still would have driven in a run somehow with his single. You don’t need runners on base to have an RBI single according to Bayonne. Base-runners don’t matter in Bayonne, NJ where’s he calls home.
Did your mother drop you on your head when you were a baby? I mean seriously, I never saw a more ignorant baseball philosophy on scoring runs than that crap you constantly preach here. You and Pomes are like characters out of a Looney Tunes cartoon. I hereby dub you Gossamer.
LoL
first W is in the books . But folks you watched the game? What kind of umpires was that? Home Plate Ump was awful in the 5th and 6th and the force out at second??? Come on , that was a joke . A JOKE !!! Thats 1/27 of game time ripped by the umpire . Very bad call, didnt see such a clear wrong call in several years
You’re right on the umpires. Torres was picked off at first on a phantom tag, the play at 2nd was just bad, and the home umpire was all over the place.
He started to squeeze Santana and then he gave 6 inches off the plate when Ike, Duda and Murph were up. Lucky for us that Muprh is a real good contact hitter and got that hit that set the table for the game winning hit…he got a strike called against him that was over the chalk in the RH hitters box that put Murph in a 1-2 hole.
simply bad bad calls, i dont say anything if its close cause the umps dont have a 1000pictures per second replay or so, BUT , some of this pitches were WAY out of the strike zone and i can excuse the phantom tag but the force out at second??? O MY GOD !!!!
Fabulous day at the ball park. Santana is the biggest and best competitor I’ve seen in a long time. Clearly (yes the umps blew goats), he was not as sharp in the 5th, but man he battles harder than anyone I’ve seen in a LONG Time
I sat in Promenade behind homeplate, just out of the sun. I’m frozen to the bone, but well worth it.
Tribute to Gary was very nice and I was also touched by seeing/hearing Ralph Kiner with the starting lineup.
PS – where is the bullpen from Spring Training, were they sandbagging? lolol
Good Day indeed
Umps seemed in mid-season form!
Funny, if Bay hit the same fly ball last season it would have looked like an ordinary fly ball but today because it was one caught a few feet from the wall it appeared entirely different and we’re all hoping that’s a good sign.
The Mets said it was the largest crowd in Citi Field history at 42,200. Was that the paid attendance figure for there certainly seemed to be empty seats scattered around portions of the upper promenade. Or it could be that many fans were walking around and congregating in others places which could make it appear that way.
I look at it this way, yes it’s nice to see Bay hit a ball that probably would have been gone in the summer time, because he didn’t drive the ball to much last year…
but it also seemed interesting because; even with the fences moved in, it’s still not a hitters park, but that hit gave us a good view of the new and old walls, and while Bays ball came up short, it did give us a moment thinking it had a chance. Last year that deep drive was just a fly ball 5 feet short of the warning track.
That one play really gives us an idea of how big the park was and how much a difference moving the fences in will be.
At least Bay is hitting the ball in the air. I haven’t see that out of him in a long time.
If he keeps doing that he at least has a chance to do something.
I am happy we won and I hate to be a negative Nancy but, Lucas Duda and Ike Davis leaving 11 men combined stranded on base is not going to work for the entire season. How many combined shut outs can one team toss? 11 men left stranded cannot be the norm for the Mets to be competitive.
One other thing we forgot to realize – the Mets were also facing the Braves who were tenth in the league in scoring last season. This does not take away from Santana’s great pitching performance or that of the bullpen but our pitching is going to need more run support when we go up against the more heavy hitters.
Not to worry about our run production or eleven runners left on base, either, for the Braves also had the fourth best pitching in the league as well. So our guys are going to do better against teams without the strong pitching as well.
What does this all mean? Nothing since it’s only game one. But we are already 1 1-2 games ahead of Miami and two up on them in the loss column. That I like.
Thing is what it does show is that when Johan is matched up against the other team’s ace we still have a chance to win a low scoring game. I am glad the bullpen turned it on for the first game too. Lets hope that continues at a high rate.
I’m sure Johan was a bundle of nerves and he still shutdown a Braves team with a lot of big bats. It only gets better from here.
Good play from Santana and Wright today……something to be upbeat about!!
Here’s hoping Jason Bay hits another long fly ball on Saturday
[...] The Mets won yesterday, beating the Braves by a score of 1-0. Johan Santana was stellar in his first big league start in 19 months, tossing five scoreless while holding the Braves to just two hits. You can read recaps at Real Dirty Mets, ESPN New York, and Mets Merized Online. [...]
Great way to start out the year…Byrdakk comin up bigg great pitchin by the Metsies who knew