Week Six
(May 9th – May 15th)
“Sway Away of Losing Ways”
*The piece “True Champions” will now be out in and apart of Issue #9 in two weeks.
New York Mets
(15 - 19)
5th place/7.5 GB
The Past (week five): San Francisco Giants Series… (Lost series 1-2) The Mets are starting to delve into scary ground as they lost another series at Citi Field. Last year it was home field advantage, a wonderful place to play. Now it seems they can’t get the ball rolling anywhere. The first game was an offensive battle. Back and forth, back and forth or should I say up and down and up and down like a boring roller coaster ride most likely made out of wood. They had chances to win the game and of course one too many chances to blow the game. Like the story of this season goes they fell short once again losing 7-6 in extra innings. Josh Thole, who is now being chased down for the catcher’s role by Ronny “drug-filled” Paulino, had a chance to get his fourth hit of the evening at the most important time late in the game…but he grounded out with the bases loaded . The always and extremely effective 1-2-3 double play. Chance at keeping a hold on your position…failed. Beltran and the Mets showed their offense is scrappy without Bay in the lineup. Sometimes. It’s a shame R.A. Dickey never helped by having his worst start of his season struggling to get through 6 innings, giving up 6 runs.
Tuesday night was the complete opposite. We saw great pitching from Chris Capuano challenging San Francisco’s “Franchise” player, Tim Lincecum. Too bad “The Freak” showed New York what all the buzz was about in the Golden Gate city for the past three years. Once again the Mets had their chances, especially in the bottom of the 6th with loaded bases and one out…I stared at the screen knowing Tim Lincecum was my number one draft pick for my fantasy team at work...a place called MLB.com…I need to prove my worthiness. Gritting my teeth and holding my hands tightly together I said out loud, “Come ‘on freak, strike the next two out.” I’m sorry it’s only because there is money on the line I swear. Willie Harris steps up…he gone. Lincecum was throwing fire. Jason Pridie is up next…oh my lord, he’s dead too. So the “freak” with the long straight black hair walks off the mound focused and in full control. Tim Lincecum fanned 12 for the 29th double-digit strikeout game of his career -- passing Christy Mathewson to set a Giants record since 1900. He threw a bunch of pitches early, which seems to be his only fault, but the Giants two runs would be enough to beat the baffled Mets. It was his first win against the Mets and he proved his superiority well.
Day game record is now 5-6 and with Jason Bay in the lineup the Mets are 7-3 at this point. It’s all about rounding out the lineup so everybody gets to see a few good pitches to hit. Beltran hit another homerun, boosting his value for the July trade show. Jose Reyes added a triple and an RBI and most impressively Mike Pelfrey didn’t look like complete shit. He made his way into the 8th inning for the first time this year. It paid off well after the game finally ended after sitting through a Frankie Rodriguez 9th inning dog show. He walks batters around so all the fans can inspect the opposing players coats, 10 walks on the season in 13 innings pitched. Not lights out by far. He’s ridiculous, but the Mets salvaged the last on three and the roller coaster ride continues against LA.
Los Angeles Dodgers Series… (Won series 2-1) With Jason Bay in the lineup...Mets win! The Mets are playing some gritty close games of late; you know the games where you need your closer at the most crucial point in the game. Frankie Rodriguez was valuable this weekend against the Dodgers. Saves number eight and nine from him this weekend and get this...he walked no one! What? I know, shocking right? Another smiling factor was Jason "pretty birdie" Pridie helping the Mets seal a 6-3 win on Friday night. Niese couldn't get out of the 6th inning giving up 3 ER and 7 hits. The bullpen has been revamped with Buchholz standing at a 1.53 ERA, Old man Izzy surviving his 6th hold since coming up from extended spring training and Igarashi, who has become a pleasant surprise this past week picking up another win to be at 2-0 this season. I think the Mets have the stuff they need to win games, it's all about fighting them out and grinding their teeth until the other team is punished. Jose Reyes is amazing when all things go his way and triples are hit like base hits. He had 4 triples this week and 3 against the Dodgers. He batted .500 in the final series going 7 for 14 and he continues to either up his value or help this team out for future decision making. I don't personally think he'll be a Met as well as Beltran who if he continues to load up the HR total and keeps hitting the ball; this limp-leg might be out of Queens as early as June 1st.
The Mets won the game, but more exciting was the halt they put on Andre Either’s 30 game hit streak. Andre has been a giant getting a hit in every game this season from April 2nd to May 6th. What a feat...too bad it was one shy of the Dodgers all-time record still held by Willie Davis from 1969, ha-ha! The Mets went on to win 4-2 and all was looking in good Met-Land as Frankie got his third save of the week and lowered his ERA to 1.17 and a 3 game win streak began.
And ended on Sunday because, the Dodger's young gun Kershaw was just too much to handle for Dickey and his Mets. Clayton struck out eight in 6 plus innings and the Dodgers were able to salvage the last game on the road trip. This was a series that needed to be won by the Mets and it was. They are better than these West Coast teams, next time they have to take it out on the Giants as well.
Player of the Week: I'm having trouble with this because Beltran and Reyes are playing real well…Mr. Rodriguez however had 3 saves giving up nothing in the run department. It’s just about the time when he makes you feel a bit confident in the closer roll, then BOOM! The downward spiral has a tendency to hit hard and fast. This past week he did his job.
EXTRA NEWS: Ronny Paulino says he is excited to catch Dickey on Saturday, then he does…this means nothing but bad news for youngster Josh Thole who I personally think can hit the ball. You just got to give him time. Manager Terry Collins believes Angel Pagan (left oblique) is now at least two weeks away from returning, ESPN New York reports.
The Future (week six):
Projected Pitching Match-ups
Game 35: Mets @ Rockies on Monday May 9th at 8:40pm
(Chris Capuano 2-3, 5.40) vs. (Jhoulys Chacin 4-2, 2.85)
Game 36: Mets @ Rockies on Tuesday May 10th at 8:40pm
(Mike Pelfrey 2-3, 6.06) vs. (Jason Hammel 3-1, 2.63)
Game 37: Mets @ Rockies on Wednesday May 11th at 3:10pm
(Jon Niese 1-4, 4.71) vs. (Ubaldo Jimenez 0-2, 5.88)
Game 38: Mets @ Astros on Friday May 12th at 8:05pm
(Dillon Gee 2-0, 3.80) vs. (Bud Norris 2-2, 3.16)
Game 39: Mets @ Astros on Saturday May 13th at 4:05pm
(R.A. Dickey 1-4, 4.50) vs. (J.A. Happ 2-3, 5.75)
Game 40: Mets @ Astros on Sunday May 14th at 2:05pm
(Chris Capuano 2-3, 5.40) vs. (Brett Myers 1-2, 4.47)
Game Thirty-Five thru Thirty-Seven It’s either payback time for the Mets after the embarrassing four game series in New York last month or a sorry start to a road trip. The Mets bullpen has some new faces since then, but the only thing that has really changed is the Rockies offense has slowed down a bit. The Rockies have some real good pitching with Chacin and Hammel going one and two this week, but Ubaldo is yet to have a win after last season in which he was untouchable.
Game Thirty-Eight thru Forty It’s either payback time for the Mets after the embarrassing three game series in New York last month or a sorry end to a road trip. Wait, what? Have I said this before? Honestly, the Mets are much better than the Houston Astros and they only showed it the last game of the series against J.A. Happ. They hit long balls galore on Jason Bay’s first day back that helped start the six game win streak which now feels so long long ago. It’s time to beat teams you should beat and gain confidence for the games you shouldn’t.
(A “weak” long prediction 4-2)
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New York Yankees
(19 - 13)
1st place (tied with Tampa Bay)
The Past (week five): Detroit Tigers Series… (Lost series 1-3) So the Yankees played their worst baseball of the season in what I’m told could the worst city in America. Not a fact, but the butt of many jokes. The lackluster play continued throughout the entire series earlier this week. Making a season high 3 errors in game four of a series they were no joy to watch. They did have one enjoyable come from behind victory on Monday night, beating up on Jose Valverde’s fat and out of shape ass, but that was it. The Tigers stayed strong and broke out of their own funk after losing to Seattle and Cleveland the week before. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada continued to hurt their batting averages, while Bartolo Colon continued his trend of quality pitching. The game was won on a Nick swisher single in the top of the 9th and all was looking well for the beginning of the trip. Then, well then the Yankee offense went to sleep and still has yet to wake up. They lost 4-2, 4-0, and 6-3 with 22 hits in all three games. Most confusing loss was the A.J. Burnett well pitched game where the Yankees had 10 hits and the Tigers only had four, I feel like a final score of 6-3 should never happen, but as we all know errors will bag you up and put you on Gilgo Beach with the trash.
The thing is, in baseball these sorts of thing will happen. Teams get hot, and then teams get cold. It comes down to the deciding question…How long will it last? No matter which way you look at it every team in the Major Leagues goes through it on both sides. This was the first series of the year the Yankees lost 3 straight and having that happen the first week in May is okay. They must get down to Texas and steal the series and get back home where the getting is good. They need class on their uniforms…yeah, it’s the pinstripes that make them play better right? No, none of this is true. The bats need to come around, and they will no doubt. The pitching is moving swimmingly as Freddy went into the 8th giving up four runs and A.J. pitched another great baseball game, but suffered his second heartbreak loss of the season. C.C. got smacked around a bit, but Joe Girardi couldn’t pull him because he is way too scared of his players and their salaries. Now that’s a fact or Posada would’ve been told to take two days off at some point in late April. Hasn’t happened yet.
Texas Rangers Series… (Won series 2-1) You thought the last game of the Tiger series was a bad day in the field with 3 Yankee errors, how about the four errors committed on Sunday…in a win over Texas. Ivan Nova sparkled Friday night in Texas. It was his best outing so far pitching 7 effective innings with no glitches. He only gave up two hits, but more impressively walked only 1 batter. He's had problems with his command this season walking 15 in 5 games previous his Friday night start. In Nova's last three starts he has lowered his ERA from7.63 to a respectable 4.08 while picking up 2 wins. On the offensive side of the ball it was Curtis Granderson getting the job done for New York. The only player with two hits in the game made those two hits count. He hit his 9th and 10th bash on the season and the Yankees looked solid throwing the combo of Soriano to finish up the 8th and Mo recording his 12th save of the season in a 4-1 win.
Down 5-0 early on Saturday the Yankees made their comeback quickly and tied things up by the 6th inning. So in two days the Yankees saw their best outing by their youngest pitcher on the staff and then the worst game start from their oldest (fat) man in the rotation. Bartolo Colon gave up 9 hits and 5 runs in four and a third innings pitched. Most of the damage was done in the 2nd inning giving up a leadoff home run by David Murphy. Boon Logan didn't fare well after the Yankees climbed their way back into the game. He suffers his second loss of the season as the Ranger bullpen held the Bronx Bombers to 2 hits and 1 run for the final 7 innings after Derek Holland was knocked out without recording an out in the 3rd.
Hey...psst...I bet you ten bucks Derek Jeter can hit a home run still. That's what I would have said last week if I realized the Great Yankee short stop (already all-time Yankee hits leader, now on his way to 3,000 career hits) didn't have one so far this year. And now wait for it...wait for it...Number 2 hits his second homer of the game and season as the Yankees repeat the feat of Saturday. They came back from 5-0 on Saturday and 4-0 on Sunday. That "never give up" type of attitude is how a team becomes a true champion. The Yankees took their hits this week, but powered on through. After losing the night before I don't think it could happen two days in a row. Nah, especially not after Francisco Cervelli's first career grand slam (0-16 with bases loaded until yesterday) in the top of the 8th to lengthen the Yankees lead 10-5. Seal the deal and get back home has to be the only way the Yankee managers are thinking at this point. All the bats came alive again on Sunday as the Spanks picked Texas pitching apart with 16 hits, while they did continue with sloppy play in the field. A-Rod had two of the four Yankee errors on the day and still they were able to pound out a victory.
Player of the Week: Your team captain has gotten a hit in every last week coming out of a bad funk. He exploded on Sunday with his first 2 HRs of the season. If Jeter starts getting hot in an already smoking lineup, it’s going to be fun to watch Boston climb from the bottom step of the ladder.
EXTRA NEWS: I found A-Rod’s favorite bat in an alley way outside of 14th Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan on the way out of work the other night. So I’ll return it to Yankee stadium this week and maybe he can get that dipping average up to where we all want it to be.
The Future (week six):
Projected Pitching Match-ups
Game 36: Royals @ Yankees on Tuesday May 10th at 7:05pm
(Kyle Davies 1-4, 7.32) vs. (Freddy Garcia 1-2, 2.88)
Game 37: Royals @Yankees on Wednesday May 11th at 7:05pm
(Bruce Chen 4-1, 3.59) vs. (A.J. Burnett 4-2, 3.71)
Game 38: Royals @ Yankees on Thursday May 12th at 1:05pm
(Sean O’Sullivan 1-2, 3.41) vs. (Ivan Nova 3-2, 4.08)
Game 39: Red Sox @ Yankees on Friday May 13th at 7:05pm
(Clay Buchholz 3-3, 4.19) vs. (Bartolo Colon 2-1, 3.86)
Game 40: Red Sox @ Yankees on Saturday May 14th at 7:10pm
(Daisuke Matsuzaka 3-3, 4.64) vs. (C.C. Sabathia 3-2, 2.89)
Game 41: Red Sox @ Yankees on Sunday May 15th at 8:05pm
(TBA) vs. (Freddy Garcia 1-2, 2.88)
Game Thirty-Six thru Thirty-Eight I’m excited to see this Royals team come into town this week. The young kids are stepping up and making baseball worth the few bucks a ticket out in Kansas City again. Alex Gordon is finally hitting like we were told he would three years ago. He’s batting .315 with 3 HR’s and 23 RBI’s. The other man to watch is Billy Butler, a big-boy and a hell of a player. The Yankees will have their way with the Royals pitching staff which makes this series a bit tilted in the already opposite looking payrolls coming from both sides. The Yankees exceed 202 million dollars of team payroll from March 31st, to mire 36 million over in KC. It’s a battle of top payroll against the cheapest team in the Majors. The Royals are coming soon with some real sick talent on offense (Eric Hosmer) and for the pitching staff, but will not fully challenge until 2012 or 2013.
Game Thirty-Nine thru Forty-One Boston…paak ur caa…you dim witted northern Philly fools who wish your city was half as important as New York is. We are the bright lights, you are the cold boring, weird talking, uninventive bunch that sucks the life out of real good shit talkers.
(A “weak” long prediction 4-2)
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Living in a Fantasy 1-2-3:
- Who Killed It? – 1. Gaby Sanchez went 4-4 with 3-Run HR on Sunday finishing off a week where he blasted the ball. 2HRs, 3 doubles, and 10 RBI's on the fantastic week. 2. Two wins and 2 saves for San Francisco's closer Brian Wilson this week. Worth a ton in the fantasy world but scary and nerve-racking as shit to watch if you're a fan. I have to admit, I am waiting for the day that his beard throws a fast ball…that thing looks amazing. 3. Jacoby Ellsbury stole 5 bases this week and had 10 hits this week, helping The Red Sox through some tough times of late. He's been quiet up until now.
- Who Thrilled It? – 1. The Minnesota Twins finally had something to cheer for this year after All Star catcher Joe Mauer goes to the DL early and All Star closer Joe Nathan can’t close a game to save his life. On Monday night the left-hander Francisco Liriano needed a boat load of pitches and some remarkable defense behind him to gain his first career no hitter. The thrill of thrills. The game was only won 1-0, but Liriano finally put together a quality start this season throwing 123 pitches, walking four and holding the sometimes devastating White Sox lineup to zero hits. Always a fun sight to see with a kid pitching his heart out and a defense playing some scrappy baseball making every play count. 2. At 28 years old Justin Verlander became the 28th player in modern Major League history to pitch multiple no hitters in his career. He first did it on June 12th of 2007 against Milwaukee and then again last week on Saturday shutting down Toronto. It only took him 108 pitches to complete the 2nd no hitter this week. He threw 74 strikes and whiffed 4 Blue jays including the last out of the night. Verlander's fastball was topping out at 101 MPH. His only fault was a walk to rookie J.P. Arencibia on an outside fastball after a twelve pitch battle. "It was a ball, and that was my thought," said Verlander about the pitch home-plate umpire Jerry Meals called to deflate the possible perfect game in the 8th inning. He continued, "...that one, right (came) out of my fingertips, I knew it was just a hair outside, and it was. It was a ball, and you've got to give [credit] -- he called it a ball, and it was." 3. One of the Phillies “Fab Four”, Cliff Lee picked up his 3rd loss as a Philly earlier this week, but mowed down 16 Braves, it was a remarkable sight to see the dominance in Lee's pitches even though run support was nowhere in sight. He did it all in 7 innings.
Adam Hammer’s Loose Lips
- Andre Ethier's hitting streak was stopped by the Mets this weekend in the Battle of the Bankrupt teams. The Met's petitioned MLB to count it as an official no-hitter, so they can join the club.
- Derek Jeter hit two home runs on Mother’s Day. When he asked his mom what she wanted for Mother's Day, she told him to “stop sucking”.
- It took the Red Sox and Angels over 7 hour to complete a game this week. The Red Sox, in their typical genius nature, decided to start charging the remaining fans after 5 hours, citing the fact that they had basically seen two games. Red Sox fans hailed the move as "brilliant" and "the best move evah!"
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- David Price (Tampa Bay pitcher) hit a home run in batting practice and then did cartwheels around the bases. Upon hearing this, Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, fined him $15,000 and is considering suspending him.
Best Series You Missed – LA Angels @ Red Sox
In all honesty I hated this series with a passion especially when I was up working the game at 3am on Wednesday night after being up for 24 hours. The game in total took 7 hours and 35 minutes that was due to extra innings and a 2 and a half hour rain delay. Another reason to punch everyone from Boston in the face with their own beloved red sox on my fists. Two great things happen though. They lost that long ass game after making their fans suffer and dwindle to about 30 people by the 13th inning. Second funny thing, they got blown out 11-0 less than 13 hours later the next day. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Next time let your people go home and get a good night sleep for a double header the following day. People will go...its baseball.
Best Series for you to Catch –
SERIES 1: Cardinals (20-15) @ Cubs (15-18) – Cardinals verses Cubs will always be a serious rival. The history between the two is a remarkable 2,100 plus games old. This rivalry is also known as the I-55 series (or in earlier years the Route 66 series), deriving its name from the roadway connecting the two cities, Interstate 55 (which itself succeeded the famous United States Route 66). The series is lead by the Cubs, but by less than 50 games. The surprisingly struggling Chris Carpenter will face Carlos Zambrano in the first meeting Tuesday night.
SERIES 2: Red Sox (16-18) @ Yankees (19-13) – Boston comes to the Bronx and the Yankees are sitting in first even after a long week away and the bigger story...Boston is still under .500 entering the second week of May. It's always an exciting matchup when the two teams meet and why should this weekend be any different? The Red Sox won the first series this year in Boston 2-1. Get ready for another long ass Sunday night game on ESPN.
And now for your reading pleasure…
***
The Future; According to the Late-Great George Carlin
“The insane will no longer be housed in asylums; instead, they will be displayed in department store windows.”
NEXT WEEK
Monday May 16th
(Week Seven May 16th – 22nd)
“Mets vs. Yankees (take I)”
Last Quip by Doctor KAS – “Archarcharch broke its leg during the Kentucky derby. I was going to feel bad until I remembered the losing ticket that I had, (and couldn’t afford) with his number on it had to be thrown out 3 minutes after the race.”
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