Results tagged ‘ Spring Training ’
Adios Florida
I should apologize for being a lazy blogger. I mean to blog more, I really do, but unfortunately, my role as student kind of trumps blogging. Take yesterday for example: I had this great blog in my mind. I thought I might open with some April Fool’s Day joke, like how I’ve decided to root for Jimmy Rollins or that I think Hanley Ramirez is a better shortstop than Jose Reyes. Yet, I found myself with a 10 page paper due the next day and no time to blog. Alas, my slightly comical but most likely fully corny blog never was written. However, even though I missed the actual day, I can’t help but share the first prank pulled on me. I logged on to my email around 12:30 Tuesday night to find an email notifying me that a facebook group I was a member of, the “Global New York Mets Fan Group” had changed its name. At first I was a little confused, but the second I clicked the link that led me to the group, I remembered that it was officially April Fools. The new group name? Global Philadelphia Phillies Fan Group. I think the adminstrator said the group lost 100 members or something. I just laughed.
Today marks the last day in Florida. All in all, I think Spring Training went fairly well. The injury list was not an issue (especially compared to last year). I thought it was kind of funny how we went full circle. Wasn’t the first injury of Spring Sean Green’s broken fingernail? And didn’t J.J. Putz get pulled from the game a few days ago because of a bruised fingernail? Ironic. Still, I have faith that the Mets will have a wonderful season and maybe even win it all! Hey, Sports Illustrated called it and yet resisted from putting the Mets on the cover (that, um, honor?, went to C.C. Sabathia…my mom and I both think he’ll pull a hammy or something in one of his first starts). I’m just really looking forward to this season, and excited to get out of Port. St. Laboratory.
For those of you stuck under a rock, it is officially FOUR DAYS until Opening Day in Cincinatti. YAY!
Be A Man
That was Livan Hernandez’s advice to Mike Pelfrey in regards to the pitch he taught Mike to throw. Good to see Hernandez is taking on a bit of a leadership role already.
The Mets beat the Nats yesterday and it was a really great game to watch. It wasn’t a particularly exciting game (no more than most anyway) but the way the game was played–the line-up, the pitchers, etc, was very close to a regular season game. Santana pitched 7 beautiful innings (I think he threw something like 10 balls….ridiculous!) and K-Rod and Felciano took care of the other two innings. The line-up is a line-up we will probably see often, with almost all the starters in, Tatis in RF for Church and Castro catching. There weren’t too many replacements until near the end of the game, so for about 7 innings, I saw players I’m expecting to watch all season. It was just really nice to see a game that could actually have been a regular season game. And nice to see Santana pitching so well (not because I was worried about him or his elbow or anything, just that it looks like he’ll be off to a strong start, and that’s always good). Anyway, I was satisfied with last night’s game, and can’t wait for the season to start!
Has anyone discovered Minor’s Moniker Madness? Now, I’m not a big college basketball fan, so I just made a bracket for fun and kind of guessed random teams to win (and apparently I’m doing pretty well…who knew?) but when I discovered this adaptation of the NCAA tournament, I had to get attached. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s basically the same NCAA bracket but instead of 64 college basketball teams, there’s 64 minor league players’ names. And these aren’t your boring, everyday names. The point is to select your favorite names and then see who wins the tournament. The winner gets the “Wonderful Terrific Monds III” award (who I believe is a former minor league player. Past winners include Will Startup (2008) and Houston Summers (2007) but I think this year’s names are so much better. I was devastated to see this morning that my favorite, Smelin Perez, was knocked out in the sweet 16 but I still have a few favorites in the Elite Eight. Still in the tournament are” Dusty Napoleon, Given Kutz (2nd favorite), Rowdy Hardy, German Sacks, Beamer Weems (favorite), Rocky Roquet, Shooter Hunt and Maverick Lasker. Be sure ot vote, I think this next round closes sometime later this week. Anyway, if you’re interested, here’s the link.
Anyone else can’t believe there’s only NINE DAYS until Opening Day? It’s been a long enough season, so I’m very glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Oh, and yesterday was my mom’s birthday, and her friend gave her the Mets page-a-day calendar that I have…guess I won’t get to stump her on the trivia questions anymore!
Back to Spring….
Well, after two weeks of October baseball, it’s time to switch gears and remember that we’re still in March here. The World Baseball Classic was such a great tournament and although I was always on board with it, I appreciate it so much more now, and sincerely hope that it develops into a really incredible event. I had such a great time being able to root for players that I wouldn’t normally root for (and being able to do the “Youuuuuk” cheer? so much fun). I hope my Mets friends out there don’t think too poorly of me, but there’s a little bit of me that might miss rooting for Jimmy Rollins…not that it will be hard to start hating him again–in fact, I think I’m already there, so no worries, but it was really nice to get to know a whole other group of players that I don’t get very much exposure to. Plus, in the WBC, I really loved seeing guys play against their teammates (ie, Wright gets a single against Puerto Rico and is on first base with Delgado) but now I get to see countrymen play against each other. Hmmm, I wonder what might happen if Jeter makes it to third base during a Subway Series this year? Anyway, of course I was disappointed to see the US lose last night, but I was more upset that the team was going to dissolve now. Oh well, if we keep progressing at this rate, we’ll make the Championship game in 2013 and win the whole thing in 2017.
The best part about this “October baseball” of the WBC is that now that it’s (almost) over, we don’t have to dread four months without baseball…just 14 days! I find it hard to believe that in exactly two weeks, I’ll be rushing back from class to check and see how my Mets did in a game that actually counts for something! Yeah, I know, how uncool I’ll miss most of the game for class, but what can I do? I’ll get to see maybe an hour in the middle, but other than that, I’ll be relying on text updates from my mom. Spring Training games are great when you haven’t seen live baseball since October, but at this point, I’m really missing the competitive edge. I think that’s why I immersed myself so much in the WBC and kind of put the Mets on the back burner. Anyway, two weeks and I’ll be plenty satisfied!
Over the weekend, I was excited to get to see my first baseball game of the season in person. A friend and I went to see Notre Dame take on Seton Hall (unfortunately, they lost, but it was baseball nonetheless). Notre Dame’s season started a month ago, but they started play on campus this past week (can you imagine baseball in Indiana in February? brrr). Getting to actually sit in the stands and be there was so great. I know it’s only college ball, but you never know, I could have been watching the next Aaron Heilman, Jeff Samardzija, Brad Lidge or Craig Counsell (all ND grads). I’m hoping to get to several minor league games this summer (especially when Buffalo is in town…gotta see my future Mets!) and hopefully even a few Mets games. It’s a six hour drive to New York City from my house, and the trip can be kind of expensive, so we’ll see. My best friend and I are making plans to go in June and see a Mets/Phillies game, and my family is looking at possibly getting to Citi for the Subway Series, but I don’t know how hard it might be to get tickets for that (anyone with experience for Mets/Yankees games have advice?).
Well, I think I’ve sufficiently procrastinated for today, I should get some actual work done now! Welcome back to Port St. Lucie, Wright and Putz….and no complaining about not winning, you’ll be with guys like Delgado, Beltran and Reyes, who have much more to complain about!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Seeing as I go to the most Irish school outside of Ireland itself, today is pretty much the biggest day of the year. I was walking to class today, seeing all the green shirts and wondering if this was really more green shirts than any other day…then I saw a girl wearing green shoes, skirt, shirt and hair, and knew it was officially St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, going to such an Irish school does have it’s perks. We got a great St. Paddy’s Day present: a sunny, SEVENTY DEGREE day. Now all those from the more southern states may not understand, but 70 degrees in the middle of march is as rare as seeing a leprechaun. Walking to class in flip-flops and capris was really awesome and I’m trying to enjoy it, because it’s supposed to be 40 by the end of the week.
Today is also the home opener for the Notre Dame baseball team (what a day to have it too, with this weather). I really want to go, but it depends on how much work I can get out of the way (ie blogging right now isn’t helping the chances) and if my friends aren’t busy (wimpy, I know, but I have issues going places by myself).
I know I haven’t blogged in a while, but I found that when I was home, I just wasn’t around my computer as much. I did have a great Spring Break though. The recent aquisition of HD TV and the MLB Network in my house provided me with plenty of entertainment, including basically the entire first half of the WBC in HD (awesome!!!). I’m still a little sad that the Dominican got knocked out earlier, but glad that the US didn’t have to worry about them the second round. I like to think after the US team beat the Netherlands on Sunday, David Wright texted Jose Reyes saying, “That was for you!” I think it would be fitting. I was really rooting for Puerto Rico last night….ie, didn’t want to see them play the US today, seeing as they mercy-ruled us last time. Hopefully they’ll still be exhausted from that, and we can send the Carloses back to Port St. Lucie. Also, so glad to see that Ollie will be returning to camp. He’s the player in the Classic that I felt needed to be in camp the most. Don’t forget the US plays Puerto Rico tonight at 7….go US! (PS David Wright- I don’t care if you felt a little dizzy after you got kneed in the head…after what we went through with Ryan Church last year, we don’t need to know that too! Give us a little break.)
Mets lost to Atlanta in Spring Training today 
. However, Daniel Murphy was a beast, going 3-4 (he’s now batting above .400 in Spring Training….RIDICULOUS!) and Jon Niese only gave up two runs (on a homer) in 4 innings, so I think that’s decent. I’ve decided to stop speculating about who the 5th starter will be because I have a feeling that all of the potentials right now will get a start sometime during the year. Ryan Church scored the only run of the game with his first homer of Spring (was it him who said you only need to hit one during Spring so you know you still got it? There you go, Ryan, now save the rest for the regular season).
I’ve noticed that there is quite a roller coaster as far as opinions on the Mets go. First, after the season, everyone was really down on them, thinking they’re the team that can’t “finish it” and play all 162 games, etc. Then we got K-Rod and J.J. and everyone was saying how great the Mets are going to be next year. Then that kind of died down, and people started talking about how Omar wasn’t doing enough this off-season and the Mets didn’t look like a playoff-caliber team. Then Spring Training started and everyone was talking about how people like Luis Castillo and Marlon Anderson were in such great shape, and the whole team looked good….now we’re back to thinking the Mets are going to fall apart in September and we’ll continue to fail. Well, I’m an eternal optimist, so I have felt from the day we got K-Rod and J.J. that we had serious post-season hope in 09 (who am I kidding, I felt that way September 29th…). So I think I’m just going to stop reading all the negative articles, and just wait 20 days until the season starts and see what happens, because really, anything can happen during the season (what, 2008 Tampa Bay Rays???). And I’m hoping and praying that 2009 ends more like it did 40 years ago (or 23…I’m not picky).
Hope everyone has a fun, safe St. Patrick’s Day! I have to admit, the only green I was wearing today were my green flip-flops (it’s days like today I wish I had the green Mets shirt, which, come to think of it, my dad has….wonder if he wore it?).
This Should Be Interesting
Today Team USA takes on the Phillies, and I’m really excited. Of course, I was thinking the game was at 1 (like most Spring Training games) so at 12:50 I go to get ready to listen to the game and find out it started at noon. Well, it was a great time for me to tune in as the USA was in the middle of a 4 run inning! I actually started listening durind David Wright’s second at-bat, and he got a hit, yay! It was his first hit of WBC Exhibition, and I know that exhibition games don’t mean anything, but it’s still nice to hear he’s getting going.
The Mets take on Italy at two today, so looks like it will be another rematch against Mike Piazza and as big a fan I am of Mike, I’ll still be hoping that the Mets can pull it together and win. The lineup includes Castillo, Tatis and Church, with Maine on the mound. Adam Rubin of Surfing the Mets joked that Maine’s perfect batting average in Spring Training is on the line, as he’s batting second, and I got a laugh out of that.
Well, can’t blog much longer as I’ve got a busy day, running errands and packing for Spring Break. Can’t wait to be back in New York tomorrow!
Spring Training: Mets vs. Tigers
Hey, everyone! A few minutes until the Mets take on Detroit, so here’s the starting line up for both teams:
Mets Detroit
Pagan, CF Granderson, CF
Green, 2B Polanco, 2B
Murphy, LF Ordonez, RF
Kielty, DH Cabrera, 1B
Evans, 1B Guillen, LF
Reed, RF Sheffield, DH
Cancel, C Inge, 3B
Martinez, 3B Trainor, C
Cora, SS Everett, SS
The game isn’t being broadcasted on TV, so I’m listening to it on a Detroit radio broadcast…should be interesting to hear another team’s view of the Mets without any serious interest in the team.
First Inning
Pagan leads off with a single to left.
Green popped out to shortstop.
Murphy singles to right- Pagan goes to third, Murphy takes second on the throw (I think they’re calling this a double…I know I’m just listening the game, but I would disagree).
Kielty grounds out to short, Pagan scores.
Evans walks, runners on first and second.
The Detroit announcers are talking about the collapses….I wish I could mute it. Good news is they’re raving about how good our team is.
Reed walked to load the bases.
Cancel popped up second base
End of the inning–Mets score one and leave the bases loaded.
Jon Niese pitching for the Mets.
Granderson walks.
Polanco singles to right. Runners on first and second.
Ordonez walks, bases loaded.
Cabrera grounds to Evans, who throws to second, back to first, double play! Granderson scores.
Guillen strikes out to end the inning.
Detroit scores one and strands one.
After the first: NYM: 1 DET: 1
Second Inning
The announcers are talking about the collapses again…ugh!
Martinez lines out to SS.
Cora hits it back to the pitcher for the second out.
Pagan walks. These walks aren’t anything to get excited about…it’s just the pitcher not doing well. I’d rather see our players getting good pitches…
Green walks, runners on first and second. The announcers talked about Castillo and seemed much more optimistic that he’d bounce back, while just calling last year an “off year.” Funny that they seem much less negative about Castillo than all Mets fans.
Murphy strikes out to end the inning.
Mets get no runs and leave two on base.
Sheffield grounds out to second.
Inge homers.
Trainor grounds out to shortstop.
Everett strikes out.
End of the inning. Tigers score one and strand none.
After two, NYM: 1 DET: 2
Third Inning
Bowman pitching for Tigers.
Kielty reaches first on an error by Everett.
Evans at bat, Kielty caught stealing (it was most likely a hit-and-run).
Evans singles to center.
Evans is caught stealing….gosh, Mets, what’s going on? Most likely a missed sign, and Reed didn’t even swing, so it wasn’t hit-and-run. Another reason I’m glad it’s still Spring Training.
Reed makes the third out.
Mets strand none, score none.
New Mets pitcher: Bobby Parnell
Granderson walks.
Palanco strikes out.
Ordonez walks, runners on first and second.
Cabrera flies to to Pagan.
Guillen pops out to first.
Tigers strand two, score none.
After three: NYM: 1 DET: 3
Fourth Inning
Cancel grounds out.
Martinez lines out to Granderson (great play, Martinez has a hit stole from him).
Cora grounds out to first, first 1-2-3 inning.
Martinez must have been POed that he got a hit stolen from him, because he just made a great play to steal a fit from Sheffield.
Inge walks. The announcers are raving again about the Mets….I never get tired of hearing people talk about how great we are 
Trainor flies out to Pagan.
Everett pops out to shortstop.
Tigers strand one, score none.
After four: NYM: 1 DET: 2
Fifth Inning
New Tigers pitcher: Bloom
Pagan hits it to shortstop and Everett makes a great play, but can’t get Pagan.
Green at bat….pitch in the dirt, Pagan moves to second.
Green grounds out to second, Pagan moves to third.
Infield in for Murphy….interesting. Murphy lines it to third, out number two.
Kielty pops out to second.
Mets strand one, score none.
Ruelas (who?) pitching for the Mets.
Granderson walks?
Palanco gets hit by the pitch.
Ordonez hits into a double play, Granderson to third.
Cabrera grounds it under the glove of Martinez, Granderson scores. Geez, Game 6, anyone? Well, except for the fact that this is Spring Training, not one of the most important games of your career.
Guillen singles to left.
Sheffield walks, bases loaded.
Inge at bat, ball gets away from Cancel, Cabrera scores, Cancel tried to make a play, ball gets away from Ruelas, Guillen scores. It’s comforting that these are not our regulars and probably won’t even make the roster.
Inge flies out to Reed, who made a diving catch.
After five, NYM: 1 DET: 5
Sixth Inning
Evans flies out
Reed flies out.
Cancels hits a single.
Martinez flies out to center.
Michael Abreu at first for Evans, Brian Stokes pitching.
Laird singles to right.
Santiago hits into a double play, bases now empty. Cora did a great job turning it, as Santiago had a chance to be safe.
Wells grounds out to third.
After six: NYM: 1 DET: 5
Seventh Inning
Cora singles to left.
Pagan grounds into a double play.
Green grounds out to short.
End of the inning.
Coronado in at shortstop.
Sizemore lines out to center.
Ordonez strikes out.
Cabrera homers.
Guillen strikes out.
After seven, NYM: 1 DET: 6
Eighth Inning
Murphy grounds out to first.
Kielty grounds out to first.
Abreu walks.
Reed singles, Abreu goes to third.
Thole singles, Abreu scores.
Martinez strikes out to end the inning.
Mets strand two, score one.
DeSalvo is pitching.
Thomas pops out to center.
Hessman homers.
Laird grounds out to second.
Santiago strikes out.
End of eight. NYM: 2 DET: 7
Ninth Inning
Coronado ground out to second.
Pagan grounds out to second.
Green gets a bloop single to right to keep the game alive.
Murphy flies out to right to end the game.
FINAL SCORE: NYM: 2 DET: 7
I’ll try to get my own reflection on today’s game up later.
You Can’t Win ‘Em All
The Mets fell to the Cards for the first loss of Spring Training this afternoon. I only got to watch a little of the game, but from what I saw, there were definitely some positives: first off, Livian Hernandez had a strong outing. Also, the Mets scored 8 runs, so obviously we can at least hit in pre-season (regular season is a whole ‘nother ball game… ahaha, what a pun!). Finally, it was nice to see someone not wearing blue and orange nearly blow a huge lead late in the game. I was secretely thinking it could happen, but alas, that was not the case. That’s ok though, I’d rather save up wins for the regular season anyway.
In other news, Santana has now been scratched from Tuesday’s game as well. I’m sorry, but I can’t help but get nervous over this. I know they claim to just be being cautious, but hearing that your ace and the guy you expect to pitch you into the post season has now been scratched from two games definitely isn’t comforting. I’m just hoping Johan gets on the mound soon and shows us he’s ready to repeat his ’08 performance.
I’m going to try to do a full game live blog (yay for Saturdays and no classes!) so if you’re interested, stop by and check how the game’s going if you can’t watch or listen to it yourself. The game starts at 1:10pm and the Mets are at Detroit.
Spring Training Game 2: vs. FLA
I’m going to be live blogging the first two hours or so of the game, so be sure to tune in if you can’t watch/listen to the game yourself.
Starting Lineup
(Mets) (Marlins)
Luis Castillo, 2B Emilio Bonifacio, 3B
Oliver Perez, SP Cameron Maybin, CF
Jose Reyes, SS Hanley Ramirez, SS
Carlos Delgado, 1B Wes Helms, 1B
David Wright, 3B Jeremy Hermida, LF
Carlos Beltran, CF Mike Stanton, RF
Ryan Church, RF Robert Andino, 2B
Daniel Murphy, LF Mike Rabelo, C
Brian Schneider, C Chris Volstad, P
I love seeing Ollie bat second. Jerry probably did this so that Ollie can get an atbat, but I like to think he was doing this also just for fun! This looks like what we can expect the April 9th (when Ollie will first start) roster, barring any injuries or players failing in Spring Training. Again, it’s so great to watch live baseball!
First inning
Ollie looked good–struck out both Bonifacio and Maybin to open the game and then got Ramirez to pop up to Reyes. Not too much of a chance to see the defense.
Castillo leads off with a single to LF. It looked like a nice strong hit. Castillo stole 2nd easily…another good sign. Perez lays down a great bunt to third and advances Castillo. Reyes comes up for his first ever time batting third, the crowd is yelling “Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose…” boy did I ever miss hearing that! He grounds out to 1st and gets Castillo home. Gary Cohen just called Castillo’s run a “Reyes run.” Delgado hits a long single to left, and the announcers noted how the Mets went to the opposite field 10 times yesterday…Jerry’s drill is working! Wright hit a fielder’s choice 4-3, end of the first.
NYM:1 FLA:0
Second Inning
Ollie gets K number 3 by striking out Helms. He walks Hermida (getting the double play in order)…or not! Looong fly out to CF for Stanton, 2 out. Slow grounder hit by Andino to 3rd….it was probably a fantastic play by Wright, but we’ve become so accustomed to seeing him make plays like that, it’s a pretty normal play.
Beltran hits a fly ball to LF for out number 1. I’m just realizing that I’ve forgotten what it’s like watch a Mets game and not spend every second holding my breath and feeling like the season is on the line. I kind of enjoy watching the game and being very relaxed. Church singles off of Helms’ glove at first. Daniel Murphy strikes out. Schneider hits a hard single past the shortstop…runners on 1st and 2nd for Castillo. After going through the order once, Mets went 4-9. Castillo walks…bases loaded for what would be Ollie’s spot, but Jeremy Reed is pitch-hitting, he flies out to CF.
After 2: NYM: 1 FLA: 0
3rd Inning
Gee pitching for Mets now. SNY just did a hilarious bit where John Maine interviewed Kevin Burkhart on what he’s done over the off-season to improve his interviewing, etc. When Burkhart finally starting interviewing Maine, of course the talk was all about the golf game down in Port St. Lucie. Gee strikes out Skipworth who was pitch hitting for Volstad. He then strikes out Bonifacio to end the inning.
New pitcher for the Marlins: VandenHurk Nice play by the Marlins second baseman to get Reyes. VandenHurk walks Delgado. Wild pitch allows Delgado to advance to second…good base running, especially since the ball stayed only a few feet away from the catcher. Gary, Keith and Ron are talking about how great it is to see Delgado be able to do that: both anticipate the ball in the dirt and aggressively run. Wright lines a single to shallow center field, runners at first and third. Beltran rockets one start to Ramirez but he bobbles so they miss the double play, only getting Wright out and allowing Delgado to score. Beltran at first. Again, Gary, Keith and Ron talking about how Delgado’s baserunning makes that run possible. It’s nice to hear so many positive remarks about the Mets. Beltran steals second, and the ball goes off Ramirez’s glove, sending the ball into center field and Beltran takes third. Should be an error to Ramirez as Beltran would have easily been out had he gotten the ball. Church flies out to the opposite field to end the third.
NYM: 2 FLA: 0
4th Inning
Maybin hits a little roller into the middle of the infield. Reyes does a nice job charging it but is unable to get the runner. First hit of the game for Florida. Obviously the Mets weren’t having this whole “runner on and no outs” thing, so Maybin was just picked off! Ramirez popped it up to Wright, two outs. Helms grounds it to Wright, who bobbles, but it able to recover and gets him out. Three outs. As I looked at Helms at bat, I saw he didn’t have great numbers last season, but then I thought: was he one of those guys who just killed the Mets one game? If anyone remembers, let me know.
Daniel Murphy leads off and draws a walk. The camera is showing a ton of kids sitting on a grassy area behind the outfield and all I can help but think it what Florida schools aren’t in session right now? And if they’re vacationers, why didn’t my parents ever pull me out of
Schneider grounds to Bonifacio at 3rd but a bad throw leaves everyone safe. Runners on first and second. Daniel Murphy just starting running while the Marlins were completely out of position. Gosh, I wish regular season games went like this, it’s so entertaining. VandenHurk walks Castillo, who is now 3-4 in Spring Training games, with 2 walks. That would mean his OBP would be, what, .833? I’ll take it. Marlon Anderson pitch hitting in the second slot. He pops up to shallow left, no advance from the runners. Well, if you didn’t already know, Jose Reyes is my favorite player, so I’m going to say this in all caps: GRAND SLAM!!! Oh, and it was into the wind. Looks like hitting 3rd fits him well. Delgado grounds out. Wright singles to, where else, but the opposite field. Beltran grounds out to first to end the inning.
After 4: NYM: 6 FLA: 0
5th Inning
Andy Green is in for Castillo at second (I guess Castillo’s done enough for today, and I agree). Jon Switzer is on the mount. Hermida flies out to Murphy for the first out. Mike Stanton strikes out. They just showed a little girl who was maybe 14 months old…the announcers were joking on whether or not she was a righty or lefty. Murphy makes a great play to end the inning.
Church had a small pop-up to second. Base hit for Murphy straight up the middle. Schneider advances Murphy on a slow roller up the first base line. Green is getting hit first at-bat now that he’s in for Castillo. They’re now talking about how the Mets switched Triple-A teams to Buffalo, NY, which is about an hour away from my house (I live in Rochester). It just gets me excited to think that the Triple-A team is so close and there is a chance when Buffalo plays Rochester (we have a Triple-A team too), I might be cheering for Buffalo….oh well! Nice to hear that the announcers are happy to have a Triple-A team from Upstate. Green strikes out to end the inning.
NYM: 6 FLA: 0
6th Inning
Figueroa in for the Mets on the mound. He gets the first batter quickly ground out to second. Gibbons strikes out. Bonifacio grounds out to Reyes for the third out. Nice job from Figueroa to get a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Gibbons stays in the game in the outfield for Florida. Bobby Kelty hits in the pitcher’s spot, and he strikes out swinging. Reyes goes up for his fourth at-bat: Gary Cohen notes that a fourth at-bat this early in Spring Training is rare, but because of the World Baseball Classic, Jerry wants to get his regulars who are leaving a lot of playing time. Reyes homers….again. Yep, Jose is definitely lovin’ hitting 3rd. This gives Reyes 6 RBI, let’s see if he can beat the combined RBI total of Church and Castillo from yesterday. Delgado gets an opposite field double (with every opposite field hit, I am more impressed with Jerry’s 80-pitch batting practice drill). Collaza gets Wright looking (he acted like it was inside) for the second out. Two-run homer for Carlos Beltran…gotta love the run support in Spring Training game (of course, I think Marlins pitching would argue that). Cancel pitch-hits for Church and grounds out to end the inning.
After 6, NYM: 9 FLA: 0
I’ll be leaving in a few minutes as I have to go to the location I volunteer at, but there’s a couple other blogs that are posting updates, including Adam Rubin’s Blog. Let’s hope the Mets can hold onto this lead (not that we really need to be worried about winning Spring Training games, but it certainly wouldn’t be good news to see the Mets give up 9+ runs in only three innings).
Updated at 4:55
Well, I’m back from volunteering (and let me tell you, my 20 minute walk through rain and the vicious wind of the midwest really made me wish I was at spring training) and glad to see the Mets held strong. MLB.com has one of its head stories about how the Mets played well, citing Reyes’ two homeruns and Beltran’s one, and also noting that Luis Castillo continues to impress, so I hope other ball clubs are paying attention and getting nervous, because if these two games are any kind of view into the 2009 season, we’re going to be a force to reckon with.
As this was my first live blog (did not realize how tiring it would be!) let me know how I can improve. I don’t think I’ll be able to live blog all games, but I’ll do my best to blog when I can. Also, I might try to not get so detailed with every batter (unless you’d prefer, again, let me know), instead just highlight key moments of each inning. If you’re interested, the full box score can be found here.
First Spring Training Game
The Mets dominated the Orioles in the first Spring Training game, winning by a score of 9-3….ok, so maybe the score doesn’t really matter in Spring Training (especially for the first game), but it’s still nice to see the Mets win. And for that matter, it’s nice to see the Mets not blow a big lead! I sincerely hope this game was an accurate prediction of what the 2009 season will look like, especially since our three starters who played today, Castillo, Church and Murphy, went a combined 6-9 and Castillo and Church got 7 RBI. And those aren’t even the big bats on the Mets! Haha, I know talk like this is cheap in February, but it’s positive reinforcement, so I’ll take it.
Thanks for the comments on my brief live blog of the game…I was even added to the MLB live blog list, so I guess I’m turning into a legit blogger…of course my usage of the word legit might have just reversed that, but oh well! I’ll do my best to live blog wheneverr I can, but I have to admit that my class schedule might get in the way (not that it distracts me though, I was definitely sitting in my Psych class this afternoon thinking that they were about to throw the first pitch of the spring). I should be able to cover the first two hours of the Mets game against Florida tomorrow, so be sure to stop by and check it out. Also, let me know how I can improve, it’s always good to get a little advice! To see the box score of today’s game, just click here.
And although the Mets are technically playing in the Grapefruit league right now, if they were in the NL East Spring Training standings, they’d be in FIRST, as Florida tied and the Nats, Braves and Phils all lost….aww, too bad world champs!
Tomorrow’s Game: vs. Florida at 1:10. It looks like we may see some more of the starters, so hopefully it will be a good game with a lot to get excited about!
Hello Grapefruit League!
I came to realize just how much I missed baseball when I looked at the box scores for the Spring Training games going on now, and found myself cheering against all the other NL East teams. Yes, I realize that it is only Spring Training and the scores don’t matter nearly as much as how each player looks, but it’s still exciting to be able to listen to live baseball. I think I had gotten my fair share of archived games, reliving Santana’s September 27th gem, the Mets clinch in 2006 and other Mets wins, but I love watching baseball and NOT knowing what the final score is.
I can only listen for a few more minutes (one more class today) but so far, the Mets lead the Orioles 3-2 in the top of the 4th. Highlights: Castillo got a 2 RBI single in the second, Church had an RBI double in the third and Evans and Pagan are 2-2.
Also, J.J. Putz is a daddy (again)! Joseph Ethan was born around 12:30 today. Congrats to J.J. and his wife, Kelsey, so glad to have another little Mets fan!
Update 2:26
Another hit for Castillo–a 2 run double…let’s hope this is an accurate prediction for the 09 season!
Update 2:32
Bases loaded hit for Church, it’s now 7-2. This means 3 RBI for Church and 4 RBI for Castillo. Not to be selfish, but I’m happy to see our starting players getting all the RBI.
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