Mets Merized Online

The Mets finish up the 2009 baseball season today as they play they the Houston Astros. While we all have strong feelings about this team, and as a group, have gone through a lot this year, it is always hard to write the last game preview post of the season. Even though we stumbled this season, we still played (something that resembled) baseball, and now we are about to go through the winter without seeing the Mets take the field till late January, play something of a game until March and not play real game until April. In that respect, I’m sad to see the season end as I’m sure many of you are too (I’ll be writing more on this later today). Anyway, the Mets have the opportunity to end the season on a very strong note by sweeping the Houston Astros (I believe its possible, this past weekend my high school just ended a 53 game losing streak, so anything is possible). Figueroa will be getting the start against Lopez.

Figueroa is 2-8 on the season with a 4.70 ERA over 61.1 innings of work. In his last three games he is 0-3 over 18.0 innings with a 5.00 ERA however, if you only look at his last 2 games he is 0-2 over 13.0 innings with a 2.77 ERA. So the last two times on the mound Nelson has been getting it done. Here are some stats the Astros have on him:

• Blum 1-13
• Berkman 2-10
• Boone 3-8
• Tejada 0-2
• Keppinger 0-2

To win though he will need something that has not been happening for him in his last several outings, and that is he will need the Mets to score him some runs.

The Mets bats get to face another rookie starting pitcher today and this time its Lopez. Lopez is 0-1 on the season over 14.1 innings and has a 9.42 ERA. This will be his second major league start where last time he lasted 3.2 innings and allowed 5 ER. As a reliever so far he has pitched 10.2 innings and has allowed 10 ER. As you probably have guessed, since he came up on August 28th of this year, no Mets have any batting history in the majors against him. The Mets bats though have been clicking the last few games and all they need is just one more game, and then they get the winter. Lets Go Mets! Finish off 2009 strong! Sweep the Astros!

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Atlanta starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens is fast becoming a Mets killer as he once again dominated the Amazins who fell to the Braves 3-1 last night.

In four games against the Mets, the 23-year old Jurrjens is 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA. On the season, he is now 13-10 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

Poor Nelson Figueroa was no match for the Braves’ stud right hander. The Mets have lost seven straight games to the Braves who have beat them for the twelfth time this season.

“They have pretty much dominated us,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “For the most part, you have to give them credit.”

Figgy deserved a better fate last night and pitched seven strong innings allowing just two runs on two hits. It was a solid performance, but realistically Figgy may not even be on the opening day roster next season. For some reason I get the sense the organization is not very high on him. Quite honestly, I don’t see a problem with having Figgy in the back of the bullpen.

Sean Green relieved in the eighth inning and quickly put two runners on and needed to be rescued by Pedro Feliciano who got the third out.

The closer formerly known as K-Rod pitched the ninth and allowed a double and the final Braves run to score. Will Rodriguez ever pitch a 1-2-3 inning again for the Mets?

Offensively, there was not much happening… Luis Castillo and Brian Schneider had two hits a piece and that sums up your hitting highlights.

Gary Sheffield made a rare appearance when he entered the game as a pinch hitter and drew a walk. Earlier in the day he took some shots at the team and said the Mets had no identity. Wow, really? You think?

The Braves clearly have owned the Mets this season, but this is nothing new. When you look at that rotation and see Jurrjens with a 2.70 ERA, Javier Vasquez with a 2.90 ERA and rookie phenom Tommy Hanson with a 2.85 ERA all you can do is tip your hat. That’s some serious pitching and I didn’t even mention Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson.

When I look at the Marlins, Nats, Phillies and Braves rotations, I see several young top of the rotation pitchers that came up through their systems in Josh Johnson, Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, John Lannan, Jordan Zimmermann, and the two young Braves I mentioned already. And the Nats may unleash the best of them all when Stephen Strasburg makes his debut.

Who do the Mets have?

Mets former first round pick Mike Pelfrey will be entering his fifth season in 2010 and is coming off a terrible year that saw his ERA soar to 5.10. I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to doubt that Pelfrey will ever become the top iof the rotation guy the Mets think he is. Bobby Parnell, who arrived amid all this hype and was deemed untouchable at the trade deadline, has already been bounced from the rotation. Misch, who was the flavor of the month in August, was officially bounced from the rotation yesterday. Who’s next? 

Pelfrey actually takes the mound tonight against Tim Hudson. I bet he pitches a gem… Of course I’m betting Monopoly money, not real money.

The Mets and the Braves play again tonight as the Mets try to win one. Last night’s game was a pretty good description of how games usually go for the Mets as they went up early, fell back, actually got the lead back (a rarity) and then lost it again, playing poor baseball at the end of the game. In other words, a pretty frustrating game. Tonight could be another frustrating game as the Mets have to deal with Jurrjens who has been just awesome against the Mets this season (1.83 ERA over 3 games with 2 wins). The Mets will counter that tonight with Nelson Figueroa who has been putting up nice numbers over the last three games as he has an ERA over 3.44 during that stretch.

If you need a reason to watch tonight, make it Josh Thole. He makes contact, a lot of contact. He is still hitting over .400 with the Mets and he is a bright spot on a team that has pretty much be dark and gloomy all season. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Braves!

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The Mets and the Braves meet tonight in a game that marks the first time ever that the Mets will see Tommy Hanson pitch. This rookie of the Braves has been highly touted and has had success so far this season as he boasts a 9-3 record over 101.2 innings pitched and has a 2.83 ERA. In his last three games he is 0-1 over 15.0 innings and has a 1.20 ERA. There is only one Met who has hit against him and that would be Hernandez who is 1-3. However, Francoeur was on the team when Hanson was first called up, so maybe he knows the inside scoop.

For the Mets, they will send Misch to the mound with his 1-2 record, 3.26 ERA over 38.2 innings. He was really rolling untill his last start where he allowed 5 ER over 6 innings, which didn’t even hurt his stats that much over the last three games where he is now 1-1 over 20.0 innings with a 3.66 ERA. This is a big start for him now though as he looks to show that he can rebound. Success now keeps him in the running for a rotation spot next Spring. Against the Braves this year he has pitched 3.0 innings in 3 games and has allowed 2 ER. Here are some Braves stats against him:

• Church 0-2
• Escobar 1-3, 2B
• McCann 1-3
• McLouth 1-2

Lets Go Mets! Beat the Braves!

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The Mets and the Philly play two today where these games will determine if this series is split, or if the Phillies will win it, or if the Mets win it. If the Phillies win both games today then the Mets will have been officially mathematically eliminated this season. Yesterday it looked like the Phils were going to win (after the Mets got an early lead) but the Mets showed heart and they battled back to get the win, thanks David Wright’s 6 RBI’s, 4 coming off of two Homers late in the game.

Game 1:
John Maine returns to the mound in game for the first time since June 6th. On the season he is 5-4 with a 4.52 ERA over 61.2 innings. In his last game he lasted 4.0 innings and allowed 7 ER. During the 2008 season, he pitched against the Phillies 3 times with a 1-0 record over 18.2 innings pitched and a 3.38 ERA. Here are some Phillies stats against him:

• Utley 7-22, 2 2B, HR
• Howard 5-23, 2 HR
• Rollins 4-25, 3 2B
• Victorino 6-19, HR
• Ibanez 0-3

The Mets in this game will get to see Kendrick make his first start this year. Last year he was an asset for the Phillies. On the season he is 0-1 over 5.1 innings and 3 ER and 4 games pitched. Last year he also pitched three games against the Mets going 0-1 over 13.1 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Here are some stats the Mets have against him:

• Beltran 3-10, HR
• Francoeur 6-17
• Wright 2-10
• Sullivan 4-5
• Pagan 1-2, 2B

Game 2:
In the second game, Redding gets the call for the Mets. On the season he is 2-5 over 95.0 innings and has a 5.70 ERA. He is 1-1 over 18.1 innings and has a 4.42 ERA over his last three games. Last year against the Phils he got two no decisions over 12.0 innings of work and had a 2.25 ERA. Here are some Phillies stats against him:

• Rollins 6-38
• Howard 3-26
• Utley 10-22, 2 2B, 2 HR
• Victorino 6-20
• Feliz 7-20

The Mets will get to see Pedro for the second time this year in the second game of the day. He is 4-0 with a 3.64 ERA over 29.2 innings and in his last three he is 2-0 over 15.2 innings and a 2.30 ERA. In the first game this year against the Mets he got the win after 6.0 innings of work and allowing 4 ER (you may remember this game as the one Perez killed in the first inning allowing 6 ER on 2/3 of one inning, or you may remember this game as the one where the Mets hit into an unassisted triple play to end the game. I’ll remember this game as my first game at Citi Field). Anyway here are some Mets stats against him:

• Francoeur 5-28, 2 2B, 3B, HR
• Castillo 6-18
• Beltran 4-13
• Murphy 1-3, 2B
• Pagan 2-3, 2 HR (one of the inside the park variety)

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The Mets and Phillies go to the National TV scene for the second game of this series as the Mets try to win this game after losing last night. The Amazin’s send out Pelfrey who has been struggling as of late except for his last start where he made a statement and just had a really good game. On the season he is 10-10 with a 4.83 ERA over 158.1 innings pitched. In his last three games he is 1-2 over 17.2 innings where he allowed 12 ER, 11 BB and 11 K. Against the Phils this year he has pitched 4 games to the tune of a 3-0 record over 24.1 IP with a 3.70 ERA. Here are some Phillies stats against Big Pelf:

• Howard 8-20, 4 BB, 2B, HR
• Utley 6-20, 2B, 3 HR
• Rollins 4-19, HR
• Werth 5-16
• Ruiz 1-11

The Mets bats will have to contend with Moyer who is 12-9, with a 4.98 ERA over 142.2 innings. Moyer is also the reason why  probably won’t watch at least the beginning of the game. Every time the Phillies play on some national broadcast, especially FOX, and Moyer is starting, the discussion starts with, and continues for about 30 minutes, about how old Moyer is and how he has reinvented himself, so and so forth, which would be fine normally, except they talk about this every time, and I am tired of hearing it. Anyway in his last three games he is 1-0 over 13.1 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Against the Mets this year he is 1-1 over 4 games over 20.1 innings and a 7.08 ERA. Here are some Mets stats against him:

• Beltran 14-61, 4 2B, HR
• Wright 19-44, 4 2B, 3 HR
• Castillo 7-23, 4 2B
• Francoeur 8-27, 2B
• Murphy 1-1, HR, 2 BB

Lets Go Mets! Beat the Phills!

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The Mets take on the Phils tonight and they will do it with this lineup:
Pagan
Castillo
Wright
Francoeur
Tatis
Evans
Santos
Valdez
Figueroa

And the Phils have this lineup:
Rollins
Victorino
Utley
Howard
Ibanez
Werth
Feliz
Ruiz
Hamels

Hey look, Evans is playing tonight! Lets Go Mets!

The Mets find themselves in a familiar position again as they try to avoid the sweep, this time with Bobby Parnell leading the charge. Before his last start, Parnell was drawing a lot of criticism due to his recent pitching performances (and the criticism was in no way unwarranted). Well he pulled a good game out of his bag his last time out giving Mets fans the delightful problem of “Oh, maybe he isn’t as bad as we thought.” To really show that he is moving on and could be a contender for the rotation in the future, he will need a good start again. On the season he is 3-7 with a 5.25 ERA over 73.2 innings pitched and in his last three games he is 0-2 over 16.2 innings pitched and has a 7.02 ERA. His last start was fantastic as he went 7.0 innings allowed 5 hits, no runs of any kind, walked three and struck out 7. Here are some Marlin numbers against him:

• Cantu 1-4
• Johnson 1-3
• Ramirez 3-4
• Uggla 0-2

Last time, due to a lack of initial run support, and then the bullpen, he didn’t get the win, so lets see if the bats can prevent that.

The Mets draw on the final game West with a 6-5 record this season a 4.61 ERA over 84.0 innings pitched. In his last three games he is 2-0 over 15 innings pitched with a 4.20 ERA. He has faced the Mets twice this year pitching 13 innings and getting a win where his ERA has been 1.38. Here are some Mets numbers against him:

• Castillo 1-3
• Pagan 0-6
• Santos 2-3, HR
• Francoeur 2-3, 2 2B
• Murphy 0-3
• Wright 0-3

Lets Go Mets! Fry the Fish!

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The Mets and the Marlins play game two tonight as the Mets will try again to play spoiler. Last night they were not able to as the Marlins were able to get by the Mets 4-2 and keep their playoff hopes alive by remaining 5.5 games out. Tonight they send Nolasco to the mound to battle Misch.

Misch has been great for the Mets in his past few starts and he is really starting to cause people to wonder about what will next season bring in the spring. On the year Misch is 1-1 with a 2.48 ERA over 32.2 innings of work and in his last three starts he is 1-0 over 18.0 innings pitched and has an ERA over 1.50. The last time he played the Marlins though, the results were not good as he allowed 7 ER over 4.1 innings (this occured in 2008). Here are some Marlins stats against him:

• Cantu 3-4, 2B, HR
• Helms 0-3
• Ramierez 1-2
• Uggla 1-2, HR
• Ross 0-2

If he pitches tonight like he has been, then all the Mets will need to do is to score some runs for him.

The Marlins send out Nolasco tonight who has a 10-8 record on the season over 152.0 innings and a 5.27 ERA. In his last three games he is 1-0 over 15.2 innings pitched with a 5.74 ERA. He has an 0-1 record against the Mets this season over two games and 10.0 innings pitched with a 7.20 ERA. Here are some Mets numbers against him:

• Beltran 9-28, HR
• Wright 13-31, 3 2B, 3 HR
• Francoeur 6-18, 3 2B, HR
• Murphy 4-11
• Castillo 6-9

These numbers look good an hopefully the Mets will be able to take this one tonight. Last night’s loss ended a streak of four games straight where the Mets had a homerun in each game (although Beltran was really close to a grandslam last night). Lets Go Mets! Fry the Fish!

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Fresh off of winning their first series in forever, the Mets will take on the Marlins tonight in a reversal of roles from previous years. In the last two seasons, the Marlins have dealt some devastating blows to the Mets playoffs hopes, and now the Mets have the opportunity to return the favor. The Marlins are 5.5 games out of the wild card, which is a bit of a long shot at this point but is very doable. The Mets play them six times this month, if they win a few, then they help make the Marlins playoff hopes disappear.

To do this, the Mets will need another good pitching performance from Tim Redding who is 2-4 on the season with 90.0 innings pitched and a 5.70 ERA. In his last three games he is 1-0 over 18.1 innings of work with a fantastic 2.45 ERA. Against the fish this year he is 1-1 over 10.2 innings and a 8.44 ERA. Here are some Marlins stats against him:

• Ramirez 9-19, 3 2B, 3 HR
• Helms 6-23, 2 HR
• Hermida 11-20, 5 2B, HR
• Uggla 2-15, HR
• Ross 2-14

So the Marlins have some good numbers on Redding but at that time he faced them, Redding was terrible. However, as of late, he has started to really improve. He could benefit from some offense though.

To get that, the Mets will have to beat up on VandenHurk who is 2-2 on the season with a 4.91 ERA over 36.2 innings. In his last game he pitched 5.0 innings allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, walked 3 and struck out 3. He faced the Mets once in 2008 and allowed 3 ER in 3.0 innings of work. Here are some Mets numbers against him:

• Francoeur 1-8
• Wright 0-4, 2 BB
• Schneider 2-3, 2B
• Castillo 1-1
• Pagan 1-1

The Mets have won 3 of their last 4 (amazin!) and now have four straight games with one homerun (thank you Sullivan and Murphy). And the word on the street is that Beltran returns tonight! A lot to watch for! Lets Go Mets! Beat the Marlins!

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