Commentary: The Replace-Mets

Posted on 23 Jun 2009 by Danielle

It's been a strange year for the team that calls Flushing home and looking back on last night's win, the game was a clear reflection of the series of quirks and chance occurrences that is the genetic makeup of the New York Mets.

Two hours before the game, the Mets announced that Carlos Beltran was headed to the disabled list for an indeterminable amount of time, leaving David Wright as the only member left of the Mets offensive core and prompting Mets fans everywhere to bid the chance of a playoff berth in the 2009 season goodbye.

Looking at the lineup, it seemed as though the Mets were destined to bite the dust.

On June 22, 2009, the New York Mets sent out...

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Wallet-Friendly Merch Alert!

Posted on 23 Jun 2009 by Danielle

Hey, everyone! As you know, summer is officially here!

And if you don't know what to get to rock at a Mets game for the summer or want a conversation-starting tee for a BBQ, why not get one of our fantastic Mets shirts! Not only will you look cool in the summer heat in your new shirt, BUT... ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of our profits will be donated to charity at the end of the season, meaning the money you spend on her will go to The David Wright Foundation.

And while you're over at our store, why not buy a matching shirt for your Mets Partner-in-Crime? You know you want to!

Click here to view all of our awesome designs. Our shirts start at a very affordable $11.99!

Check out some of our designs below:

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Mets top Cards on big nights for Santos and Castillo

Posted on 23 Jun 2009 by Danielle

Two hours before the game, the Mets announced that Carlos Beltran was headed to the disabled list for an indeterminable amount of time, leaving David Wright as the only member left of the Mets offensive core and prompting Mets fans everywhere to bid the chance of a playoff berth in the 2009 season goodbye.

But on a night in which the Mets sent out a pitcher who totaled ten wins and eleven losses in the prior season, appearances by their fourth, fifth, and sixth string outfielders, a right fielder coming off an injury-plagued season that included two concussions and hip problems, a shortstop who signed a contract barely over the major league minimum, a catcher who was virtually unheard of at the start of the season, a second baseman Mets fans wanted to personally drive to the airport in a trade in 2008, a third baseman-turned left fielder-turned first baseman who up until a week ago, was in a state much different than his phenom-status of last season, a third baseman experiencing a strange league-leading season of twenty-day streaks, a relief pitcher who recently went eleven days without making an appearance, and another relief pitcher who got shelled in his first outing, merely two weeks ago...

They won in a never-say-die fashion with 12 singles, a double, and a home run, 6-4.

The Mets beat the Cardinals because they outscored them, outhit them and outpitched them. And they amassed 14 hits because. ... well, just because.

Jerry Manuel was delighted by how it all worked -- how seven innings of effective pitching by Tim Redding; two run-scoring hits by Alex Cora; four hits, a run and an RBI by Omir Santos; a home run by Daniel Murphy; and relatively quiet eighth and ninth innings produced the Mets' first victory in four games against the Cardinals this season.

Jeremy Reed, the understudy for Beltran, was the only hitless Mets starter. Five players drove in runs, four scored, and the Mets scored in five innings and had no multiple-run hits.

The Mets, for the first time, played without the Carlos Brothers, Jose Reyes and Gary Sheffield, who received a night off, in the lineup. And it worked for the Replace-Mets on this night. But teams with regular lineups that don't equal what the Mets put out there Monday win, too.

Redding, making his seventh start, provided more of what the manager wanted. He reached the eighth inning for the first time, sparing the sapped bullpen some bullets, and gained his first victory as a Met. Redding surrendered four hits in seven innings before allowing a leadoff home run by Brendan Ryan in the eighth that prompted a change of pitcher, to left-hander Jon Switzer.

Redding (1-2) walked one and struck out four. Ryan's first home run was the second by the Cardinals; Ryan Ludwick had driven in two runs with his 11th home run in the sixth.

Switzer faced two batters, allowing a single by the second, pinch-hitter Tyler Greene, that afforded Albert Pujols to bat as the go-ahead run. The Citi gulped. Manuel wanted to stay away from Sean Green and Bobby Parnell. New man Elmer Dessens wasn't right for this assignment. And it was one out too early for Francisco Rodriguez. And, anyway, Manuel had designated Brian Stokes as the "eighth-inning guy" before the game.

Stokes threw two breaking balls to Pujols to slow him down. Then he gave him some heat before retiring the "game's dangerous hitter" on a double-play ground ball back to the mound after a 2-2 slider. That was by design.

Only after Stokes finished his work and Cora drove in a run in the bottom of the inning did a sense of security develop at Citi Field. And when Rodriguez earned his 19th save in 21 tries, the Mets had secured their seventh victory in 19 games this month.

The Mets scored twice in the first inning against losing pitcher Todd Wellemeyer (6-7) with a sacrifice fly by Ryan Church and Santos' first hit of the game driving in the runs. And they added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, all against the Cardinals' starter. Daniel Murphy's fifth home run came in the fifth and increased, to 27, the home run total of the players in the Mets' 25-man roster. Pujols has hit 26.

That 26 is nine more than the sum of the players in the Mets' starting lineup. But on this night, Pujols produced just a double that was more than offset by Luis Castillo's booming RBI double in the fourth and 12 Mets singles. There is more than one way to skin a cat, but the best way to eat a two-ton elephant is one bite at a time. That's how the Mets did it, on this one night at least.

The season has 94 games remaining, and the absences of Beltran, Delgado and Reyes will have more effect than they had Monday. But if last night proved anything... it was that this team has more heart than anyone gives them credit for.

Notable performances:

Alex "Turn up the AC because he's on fire" Cora went 2-4 with two singles, a RBI, and a walk.

Daniel Murphy continues to work his way back towards .300 with his 2-5 day, scoring twice, once on his solo homer off Wellemeyer in the fifth.

Both Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis had a hit a piece, with Church scoring once.

The performances of the night belonged to Omir Santos and his 4-4 day, scoring once and plating one, and Luis Castillo and his 3-3 day, which consisted of two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk.

David Wright went 1-3 with two walks, a run scored, and no strikeouts. His average is still at .349.

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Mets drop rubber match to Rays, skid grows to 2.

Posted on 21 Jun 2009 by Danielle

The long summer stretched ahead. What will the Mets do with it? Not that this seems all that much like summer, not that the Mets look all that much like the team they saw in the mirror of March. But their season carries on regardless of the cumulative rainfall and an overtaxed disabled list. And that question still seeks an answer, no matter how unpleasant it may prove to be.

The most recent response came Sunday, the second day of summer and 21st day of New York-turned Seattle. It was an unbecoming 10-6 loss to the Rays that continued a streak of poor play for the Mets.

A long Sunday afternoon, made longer by the requisite rain delay at Citi Field, was the appropriate ending for a long weekend which prompted -- what else? -- long faces among the Mets. Mike Pelfrey pitched effectively for four innings before the Rays battered him and his weary relief and extended the Mets' June swoon.

The Interleague loss, New York's 12th loss in 18 games overall this month, extended, to four, the number of consecutive series the team has lost and left its record one game over .500 after 67 games. And it effected another day of somber, sobering soul searching for this so-so team.

Because the Phillies can't win in Philadelphia, the 34-33 Mets are merely two games from first place. "Within striking distance" is how David Wright characterized the Mets' standing before he noted.

The Rays scored their runs in their final five turns at bat to put their Interleague record at 8-4. The Mets have lost seven of 12 games against the American League. The Rays scored four times in the fifth and seventh and twice in the eighth, and New York's offense essentially stopped after it had scored once in the seventh.

Pelfrey didn't maintain his stuff, as was the case in his previous start, against the Orioles on Tuesday, and thereby left too many innings to the bullpen. And two members of the 'pen, Bobby Parnell and Sean Green, were inadequate, facing four and three batters, respectively, and retiring none. Moreover, Jerry Manuel's use -- he identified it as overuse -- of the bullpen jeopardized the Mets' late-inning readiness for subsequent games when the opponents are the formidable late-inning teams from St. Louis and the Bronx.

Pelfrey's departure wasn't premature, it was warranted. He shut down the Rays on three hits for four innings, but he surrendered hits to the first five batters in the fifth, when Tampa Bay produced the first of its two four-run innings. Six relievers were used to achieve the final 12 outs, which links this loss to several from September 2008, including one in Washington when Manuel used six pitchers to produce nine outs.

Manuel had wanted to give Pedro Feliciano a day off or limit him to one batter as he had Friday night. Instead, the only proven left-handed member of the 'pen, who leads the big leagues in appearances with 40, faced four batters and threw 23 pitches after he was summoned to follow Green, who had loaded the bases on singles with none out in the eighth when the Mets already trailed, 8-5.

The last time Feliciano didn't appear in a game, the Mets lost, 15-0, in the Bronx; he has pitched in six straight games. Green has pitched in four straight, and Parnell, the losing pitcher Sunday, in four of the past five.

Manuel more than occasionally speaks of "managing fatigue," yet after Brian Stokes had pitched a quiet sixth in relief of Pelfrey and a three-run home run by Brian Schneider had regained the lead for the Mets at 5-4, the manager had Fernando Tatis pinch-hit for Stokes with no one on base and two outs. A rally was unlikely.

Trust in Stokes -- particularly in light of Parnell's recent workload and recent struggles -- might have afforded Parnell the day off the manager now says is essential. Manuel explained his call for Parnell oddly, saying he didn't want Parnell in the 'pen fretting about his recent shortfalls.

After allowing four hits -- they lead to four runs -- to four batters, Parnell has retired merely 12 of his past 28 batters. He has lost his past three decisions, all this month.

Much of the problem Sunday could have been avoided if Pelfrey had completed at least the sixth inning. That would have given the Mets three successive starts -- Fernando Nieve, Johan Santana and Pelfrey -- of at least six innings. And the shortfall bothered Pelfrey.

The four-run fifth inning marked the sixth time in 13 starts Pelfrey has allowed at least three runs in an inning. And it led to the 10th time this season the Mets have allowed at least 10 runs. Scoring six runs ought to be enough to win. But some games, they get the pitching and other days they get the hitting, and some days the bullpen stubs its toe.

One of the Mets was reciting that lament, or something close to it Sunday after the loss. It prompted recall of another assessment spoken about another Mets team that only occasionally put all the parts together.

Notables:

Alex Cora, Daniel Murphy, Gary Sheffield, Brian Schneider, and Mike Pelfrey each had a hit in today's game.

Carlos Beltran went 2-4 with a walk.

David Wright had a 3-5 day with two runs scored. His average jumped to .349 on the day.

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Santana back to form, but Mets can't beat Shields

Posted on 20 Jun 2009 by Danielle

Johan Santana was back in fine form, but the Mets' offense wasn't enough to beat out Jamie Shields' stellar performance.

Carlos Pena hit a tiebreaking homer off Santana in the seventh inning Saturday, sending Shields and the Rays to a rainy 3-1 victory over the New York Mets.

Shields allowed three hits in seven innings and retired his final 14 batters. He outpitched Santana, who rebounded nicely from the worst start of his career.

Both starters were lifted after a 73-minute rain delay in the top of the eighth. Dan Wheeler worked a perfect inning and J.P. Howell got three outs for his fourth save.

Ben Zobrist added a solo homer in the ninth, his 15th in a breakout season for the AL champions.

Outhit 5-4, the depleted Mets have another ailing star to worry about: Carlos Beltran plans to have an MRI exam Monday on his aching right knee.

Beltran, who said he intends to play Sunday, missed two games in late May and had a cortisone shot because of a bone bruise below the knee. Hobbling on the bases, he said he's been feeling the same sensation as before and he wants a doctor's opinion.

Santana was tagged for nine runs and nine hits in three-plus innings Sunday, losing 15-0 in the Subway Series finale at Yankee Stadium.

The sluggish performance and diminished velocity on his fastball raised questions about Santana's health, though he insisted he felt fine. After adjusting his mechanics during a recent side session, the ace left-hander looked more like himself Saturday against the top-scoring team in the majors.

Santana (8-5) squandered a 1-0 lead and took the loss, but didn't allow a hit until Jason Bartlett's one-out double in the fifth. He yielded three hits and three walks in a season-high 7 1-3 innings.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner showed better zip and command with his fastball, which clocked around 92 mph all game. That's not Santana at his best, but it was a noticeable improvement from Sunday.

His strikeout totals, however, have dropped dramatically. Santana fanned three against Tampa Bay, giving him 11 over his last four starts. He averaged 8.6 strikeouts through his first 10 outings.

Gabe Kapler had an RBI double for the Rays, who snapped a three-game slide.

While Santana pitched well, the Mets reverted back to their early-season trend of not supporting him with much offense. Tampa Bay pitchers retired 19 in a row before Beltran's two-out single in the ninth. Howell struck out David Wright to end it.

Making his 100th career start, Shields (6-5) won for the first time in five road outings since April 12 at Baltimore. The right-hander struck out four and walked none. The only run he allowed came on back to back doubles by Ryan Church and Omir Santos in the second.

Notables:

Alex Cora, Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, and Omir Santos each had a hit in today's game, a quarter of the Mets' four-hit total.

David Wright went 0-4 with a strikeout to lower his average to .344

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All-Star Game Voting Page HAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED!

Posted on 10 Jun 2009 by Danielle

Check out The Wright Stuff's special voting page. If you were doubting David Wright for the starting 3B, think again.


Click here to visit this cool page!

Remember, we're giving away a special prize to the winner of Part 1 and a David Wright Jersey (retailing for $80 or more!) to the winner of Part 2.

Want to learn more? Or maybe, you need a refresher?
Click here for more info.

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Mets take first game from Phils with electric 6-5 win

Posted on 10 Jun 2009 by Danielle

The Mets applied the three R's -- resolve, resilience and resourcefulness -- and mixed them with an ingredient in abundant supply since Opening Day, relief. Not after they defeated the Phillies in the most rousing game in Citi Field's 28-game history. For now, the race is maintaining its New York apartment for at least another few days. Ultimately, these bruised and aching Mets may go nowhere. But for now, the race isn't going anywhere, either.

The Mets' 6-5 victory against the first-place Phillies prompted the change of travel plans and generated a degree of excitement in the stands, the home dugout and the comfy home clubhouse. This one resonated as much as a June 9 game can. And if the Phillies weren't damaged by it nearly as much as the Mets were bouyed by it, well, so be it. The Mets could do little more than gain a game in the standings and fortify their sense of self.

The way the Mets went about their business was -- for this team in this spacious arena -- unusual, to say the least. The home run, an endangered species at Citi Field, made a rousing comeback in this engagement between the team that leads the NL in home runs, the Phillies, and the team that began the evening with the third fewest home runs in the game. And surprisingly -- no, remarkably, the Mets prevailed, though not in the slugging. The Phillies hit four home runs, each against Johan Santana, no less. But the Mets made the most of the three hit by David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church.

The seven combined, the most in one game at Citi, increased the number surrendered by the new place to 45, the fifth fewest in the NL.

Church's home run, against Chad Durbin in the seventh inning, not only provided the decisive run, it also created another Citi first, landing, as it did, in the apple basket beyond center field. It made him an honorary member of the frequently-cited Core of the Mets.
Dazzling as it was, Santana's double play wasn't the one that stood out. That distinction came an inning later after Chase Utley's home run had moved the Phillies to within 6-5 and Bobby Parnell, Santana's successor, had allowed a single by Jayson Werth. Manuel summoned Pedro Feliciano to face Howard. Four pitches produced a ground-ball double play -- Howard now is 5-for-25 against Feliciano -- and a groundout by Ibanez and left three outs for Francisco Rodriguez.

They were achieved with minimal resistance, a leadoff single by Jimmy Rollins, and K-Rod emerged with his 16th save in 16 opportunities. The Mets emerged with a sense of turned tables. This year, they have the invincible closer. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Phillies had a closer, Brad Lidge, on the disabled list.

Notable performances of the night:

The ever-gritty Alex Cora went 2-5 with a run scored and an RBI.

Carlos Beltran smacked a Beltran Blast on his 1-3 night, plating himself and Cora.

Gary Sheffield was 1-3 with a walk.

Fernando Tatis was 1-2 with two walks.

Ryan Church, was 1-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, his plating occurring on his home run off Durbin in the seventh, which was the difference in the game. He also walked once.

Omir(acle) Santos was 1-4 with one run scored.

Johan Santana got in on the act two with his butcher boy play off Condrey to drive in two crucial runs.

David Wright is still red-hot in the month of June, going 2-4 with a home run (4) and a double (17) off of J.A. Happ, boosting his average to .348, second in the NL.

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Redding and Wright help stop skid, Mets win 3-1

Posted on 05 Jun 2009 by Danielle

David Wright's two-run double, his fourth hit of the night, broke a 10th-inning tie and the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Luis Castillo led off the 10th with a single off Joel Hanrahan (0-3) and Carlos Beltran walked. Wright then lined a 2-2 pitch into the gap in right-center to score both runners and match single-game high for hits.

Sean Green (1-2) worked a perfect ninth for the victory and Francisco Rodriguez improved to 15 for 15 in save opportunities with a scoreless 10th.

Washington has dropped nine of 10, and fell to 0-7 in extra innings.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second when Wright led off with a double to short left field, moved to third on Daniel Murphy's flyout and scored on Fernando Tatis' grounder to short.

New York missed an opportunity to add to its lead in the fifth, when Fernando Martinez drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when left fielder Adam Dunn misplayed Brian Schneider's sinking liner into a double. But Nationals starter Shairon Martis got Mets starting pitcher Tim Redding and Alex Cora to ground out with the runners holding before Castillo flied out to Dunn to end the threat.

The Nationals tied it in the fifth when Josh Bard doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Alberto Gonzalez's single to right-center.

Martis worked five innings, allowing a run on three hits. He walked four and struck out one.

Redding gave up a run on four hits in six innings, walking two and striking out two.

Notables:

Luis Castillo went 1-5 with a run scored.

Carlos Beltran had a 1-4 day with a run scored.

Fernando Tatis went 1-3 with an RBI double.

Brian Schneider went 1-2 with a double.

Player of the game, David Wright, was 4-5 in tonight's game. He plated two runs and scored once on two singles and two doubles. His average rose to .338.

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ANNOUNCING: 2009 MLB All-Star Game Contest!

Posted on 02 Jun 2009 by Danielle

Alright Mets fans, it's that time again. The All Star Game is just over a month away!

Last year, there was a horrific showing by Mets fans. The only player to be voted into the ASG was Billy Wagner... and we all know how well that went. We had to rely on the generosity of former-manager for the Colorado Rockies, Clint Hurdle, in order to get David Wright into the game.

This year, we must make up for what we failed to accomplish last year and while David is currently leading the field for NL third basemen, there is still plenty of time left.

Part 1

Your challenge is to make a banner with dimensions of 525 x 100 px, promoting the vote for David in the All Star Game Balloting.

The best banner will win a VERY special prize, as well as a permanent place on the homepage of The-Wright-Stuff.com

Submissions can be emailed to TWSDanielle@gmail.com with the subject of "Banner Contest Submission."

Part 2

BUT, the fun is not over Mets fans.

Once your submission has been made, I will reply with a custom HTML code that will allow you to paste the code wherever you'd like... message boards, fan pages, etc... and will direct you to The-Wright-Stuff.com's special voting page for the ASG.

YOU MUST EMAIL ME WITH THE EXACT URL OF THE PAGE(S) so that I can track your banner. If you fail to do so, you will not be eligible for Part 2 of the contest.

The person who brings the most traffic to the voting page will win a David Wright Jersey!

Rules:

You CAN enter Part 1 of the contest only, but I ask that you please state this in your email so that I don't waste time making you a code.

You cannot take another person's banner and post it in another page as your own. I will know and you will be permanently banned from taking part in any future TWS contests.

You cannot sit and repeatedly click on your own banner from the same locations. I can tell when clicks from the same IP address(es). Doing so will result in a permanent ban from future TWS contests.

In entering this contest, you explicitly give The-Wright-Stuff.com and myself permission to use your banner on the any/all areas of the site and forfeit all rights to compensation of any kind.

Banner submissions will be accepted until Saturday, June 13. 2009 at 11:59pm EST. The winner of Part 1 of the contest will be announced on Monday, June 15th EST.

Part 2 of the contest will run from June 2, 2009 to July 2, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. The winner of Part 2 will be announced on the day on Monday, July 6th.

End of rules

Sorry to bore you with all of the rules/legal jargon, but it must be done.

Please remember that voting for the 2009 MLB All Star Game ends on July 2nd at 11:59pm EST.

Good luck to everyone and feel free to email me with questions!

- Danielle

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TWS Hodgepodge: Recaps, ASG, and Contest

Posted on 01 Jun 2009 by Danielle

First of all, I've decided that I need a person/people to recap the games for me during the week, Monday-Friday. To be perfectly honest, I'm so swamped during the week and Andrew has a life/job, too, that I've come to accept that, at least for this month, I need someone else to recap the games for me.

If you're interested in the position, please email me an original recap of a recent game. The deadline for the application is Saturday, June 6th at 11:59 pm. Please email me at TWSDanielle@gmail.com

Don't worry about not knowing how to bold the names, insert images, etc. I'll explain that to you if selected. It's really easy.

Second of all, the All Star Game is right around the corner! How time flies!

At the end of this week, I'm going to start making signatures, banners, etc. that you can post to communities, websites, and other mediums to persuade others to vote for David, who is currently in FIRST PLACE in the NL of the 3rd Basemen.

And lastly, because of the All Star Game, The Wright Stuff is going to be running a contest with a VERY special (and might I add, relatively expensive) prize to the winner.

It is going to involve graphic design and web traffic, however, there will be separate prizes for each.

So stay tuned... and Let's Go Mets!

- Danielle

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