Archive for the ‘Anthony Lafaman’ Category

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Mets are in Atlanta tonight for Game 3 of the current 4 game set.  First two games have not gone well.  You can see the action live on SNY starting at 7:10 and hear it live on WFAN 660.

New York Mets Lineup
1. Luis Castillo, 2B
2. Josh Thole, C
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Chris Carter, RF
5. Carlos Beltran, CF
6. Ike Davis, 1B
7. Lucas Duda, LF
8. Ruben Tejada, SS
9. Mike Pelfrey, SP

Interesting Fact/Trend: Lucas Duda in the lineup tonight fresh from Triple AAA where he was absolutely murdering the baseball hitting .314 with 17 bombs and 53 RBI’s. With Francoeur gone Duda and Carter will split time while Pagan gets healthy.

Atlanta Braves Lineup
1. Omar Infante SS
2. Jason Heyward RF
3. Martin Prado 3B
4. Brian McCann C
5. Eric Hinske LF
6. Freddie Freeman 1B
7. Brooks Conrad 2B
8. Rick Ankiel CF
9. Tommy Hanson SP

Interesting Fact/Trend: Heyward is 18 for 27 with 11 RBI’s over the past 9 games. Kid is flashing is talents. Reminds me of Junior Griffey a bit. Braves did not miss on that pick.

On The Bump: Mets send Mike Pelfrey (13-7, 3.61ERA) to the mound tonight to face the Braves Tommy Hanson (8-10, 3.76ERA). Mike is coming off a win with 8 strong against Houston and Hanson is coming off a stinging loss to the Marlins where he let up 6 runs over 5 innings.

Tommy Hanson hasn’t win in just about two months. Whereas Pelfrey has been as sharp as ever with a scorching August and though he has struggled against Atlanta (career #’s vs Atl. 4-7, 5.45 ERA) over his career he seems to have found what he was looking for. Consistency.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game: Pelfrey has bad career numbers against Brian McCann who hits cleanup for the Bravos. One key of the game will be to not let him hurt you. McCann is batting .486 with 10 extra base hits against Mike.

Cool Heyward, the youngster, off. Mike has so far as Jason is 0-8 against Pelfrey.

Mets offense needs to relax and stop pretending they are in a playoff race. Because they are not. Math says otherwise I know but realistically the Mets are dead. Just relax, see the ball, hit the ball and have fun. I guarantee if they do that, they will be competitive.

LETS GO METS!

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Queens super hero Robert Allen Dickey strikes again. Logger by day, super starting pitcher by night. I’m convinced the guy can whittle an airplane out of wood and vines. Guy is amazing. Scattering 6 hits over 7 and change Dickey held the Astros to only a run ringing up win #9 for him and #65 for the Metropolitans.

Oh yeah and he even went 2-3 at the plate with a run score and two RBI’s. Mets win 2 out of 3 against the Astros and close the homestand at 3-3. Which has happened an awful lot. In the bottom of the second David Wright drew a walk followed by Ike Davis ripping a double down the right field line. After Thole walked and Hernandez stuck out Dickey delivered with a single up the middle to open the scoring at 2-0.

Thole then scored on a fielders choice by Pagan and Castillo singled to bring in Dickey. 4-0 and that was all they needed even though Thole, in the bottom of the 6th, blasted his second home run of the year. Pinged it right off the Pepsi Porch Pepsi sign on the overhang in right. Bomb. Thole has an all around great game looking refreshed after sitting for two games.

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BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Despite only collecting 3 hits the Mets eek one out at Citifield tonight by the count of 2-1. With a little bit of drama at the end the Mets were up 2-0 going into the 9th but Bobby Parnell was given a shot to close and he put some men on base. Out came Jerry and in came Takahshi who was shaky but ultimately got the job done.

The defense was sparkling tonight. Highlighted by a tremendous running catch by Angel Pagan (who was showing Carlos how it’s done) streaking across left field to nab a ball in the gap and Ruben Tejada chased down a pop fly in foul territory and ended up on the tarp. Fine, fine play by the youngster.

Nelson Figueroa was stingy tonight but the Mets got two runs on basically a single and a walk. Castillo singled in the 1st and moved to first on a throwing error, then to third on a wild pitch. David Wright popped a fly to over second and that was enough for Luis to race home with the first run.

Hey, it counts. Next run came in the bottom of the 4th for NY when Ike Davis walked, Frenchy singled and Henry Blanco walked to load the bases. Then Nelson committed a baseball sin. He walked the 8th spot to bring in a run, As Ron Burgundy once said, that stings the nostrils.

Mike Pelfrey (13-7) was outstanding tonight went 8 tough strong innings and held Houston scoreless. Bobby Parnell started the ninth and after allowing to stros to reach base was pulled for Takahashi promptly allowed Parnell’s baserunner to score to cut the lead in half. Takahashi rebounded to induce a pop up and then strike out Manzella to win the game.

Turning Point- The minute Nelson Figueroa threw ball four to Ruben Tejada who was like 0-900 in his last um, 900 at bats? You get the point. This brought in the 2nd run of the game and that was enough for the Mets to claim victory.

Game Ball- Mike Pelfrey. 8 strong innings using 124 pitches, 77 for strikes. Notched his 13th win and lowered his ERA to 3.61. He’s back folks.

Next Game- Tomorrow Johan Santana (10-8, 2.94 ERA) vs Brett Meyers (9-7 3.08 ERA) for Game 2 of this 3 game set with the Stros. 7:10 start.

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Mets play Game 2 of the three game set @ Citifield tonight, 7:10 start. You can catch all the action live on channel SNY or listen live on WFAN 660.

New York Mets Lineup
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Angel Pagan, LF
3. Carlos Beltran, CF
4. David Wright, 3B
5. Ike Davis, 1B
6. Jeff Francoeur, RF
7. Josh Thole, C
8. Ruben Tejada, 2B
9. Pat Misch, P

Interesting Fact/Trend: Tuesdays 6-5 comeback win was just what the Dr. ordered for a Met team that has endured 42 losses by 1-2 runs. Also, surprised Jerry didn’t give Luis a gift by putting him the lineup. Not that I want him there, just sayin, could see Jerry doing something like that.

Florida Marlins Lineup
1. Cameron Maybin, CF
2. Luke Morrison, LF
3. Hanley Ramirez, SS
4. Dan Uggla, 2B
5. Gabby Sanchez, 1B
6. Mike Stanton, RF
7. Wes Helms, 3B
8. Brett Hayes, C
9. Alex Sanabia, P

Interesting Fact/Trend: Marlins are 2-5 vs the Mets at Citifield but 8-6 overall on the year.

One The Bump: Mets send Pat Misch (0-2, 3.00 ERA) to the bump vs Florida tonight. the last time Misch faced the Marlins (overall he is 1-2 with a 5.49 ERA) he was dominate. Held Florida scoreless while scattering 8 hits over 8 innings. Last appereance for Misch was very good although it ended badly with one mistake pitch to a guy they call El Caballo.

The Marlins counter with Alex Sanabia (2-1, 3.77 ERA), a rookie who would like to continue impressing the Marlins brass. This is New York’s first look at the youngster as a starter after seeing him during a relief stint for two innings in June. Sanabia has not allowed more than one run over his past 5 starts and dominated the minor leagues with a 6-1 record and a sparkling 1.92 ERA.

Daily Stache Keys to the Game:

Run support. Misch has pitched well enough to have 3 wins in his past 3 starts but the Mets have provided next to nothing when he’s pitched. If they can put a few runs on the board early Misch has the tendency to go on a roll.

Like Matt said yesterday, take advantage of the Marlins inexperienced hitters. With Misch on the mound it’s a good matchup. Control, littering the zone with different speeds and changing eye levels. Misch has the ability to keep this team off balance, if he executes.

Treat Gaby Sanchez like Pat Burrell. This guy is a Met killer and it’s starting to get annoying. Two outs, man on second, first base is open I’m walking him.

As Pagan goes, so do the Mets? Pagan collected 4 hits last night including a crucial 8th inning double in which he ended up scoring the tying run. He’s been fantastic all year and it seems like when he’s hot, the Mets do well.

LETS GO METS!

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Mets open up the series with Pittsburgh with a nice W tonight. After manager Jerry Manuel called his offense pathetic the Mets came out swinging and plated 7 runs off 15 hits. A huge breakout game that one can only hope continues. Mets (61-61) get back to .500 with the win while the Pirates (40-82) stumble to seven games under .500 at home.

Pelfrey was sharp for the most part allowing only an earned run and improved to 12-7. Chris “The Animal” Carter was put in the clean-up spot tonight in an effort to shake up the offense and separate those cold bats. Well it seemed to work but who knows. Carter played well but so did everyone. It’s the Pirates, they could make the Bad News Bears look good.

Mets opened the game with 3 runs as Carter started the RBI parade bringing in Reyes with a single. Ike followed with another RBI single and Thole added an RBI single for the third run. All with two outs by the way. After Doumit hit a BOMB off Pelf in the 2nd The Animal hit one of his own in the 3rd inning to make it 4-1. Later that inning Thole again singled in a run and that made it 5-1.

In the 4th the Mets tacked on 2 more runs when Beltran singled home Reyes. Pagan was running on the play and ended up scoring when third baseman Pedro Alvarez committed his first error of the year. That was all the Mets got but that was all they needed.

Big Pelf went 8 strong and Parnell came in to close out the ninth again looking every bit like a future closer hitting 100MPH twice on the gun. On a sidenote Jeff Francouer’s mustache is bitchin’.

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BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Mets are in Houston to take on the Astros in the third game of a four game series.

Catch the game live on SNY, 8pm or tune in to Howie and Wayne on WFAN 660.

New York Mets Lineup
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Angel Pagan. LF
3. David Wright. 3B
4. Carlos Beltran. CF
5. Ike Davis, 1B
6. Jeff Francoeur, RF
7. Jose Thole, C
8. Ruben Tejada, 2B
9. R.A. Dickey, SP

Interesting Fact/Trend: Mets still struggling to score since the All-Star break. Since then they are batting .213 with only 87 runs scored. That’s worse in the major leagues.

Houston Astros Lineup
1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Angel Sanchez, SS
3. Hunter Pence, RF
4. Carlos Lee, LF
5. Chris Johnson, 3B
6. Geoff Blum, 2B
7. Brett Wallace, 1B
8. Miguel Quintero, C
9. Brett Myers, P

Interesting Fact/Trend: Houston has had 17 extra base hits in the past 4 games. Led by Pence who has had 4 doubles and three home runs.

On The Bump:
Mets send superstar R.A. Dickey (8-5 2.43 ERA) to the bump vs Houston’s Brett Myers (8-7, 3.13 ERA). Both R.A and Brett have pitched well lately. Mr. Dickey is coming off a one hitter vs Philadelphia while Brett comes off a ND vs Pittsburgh where he only allowed one run. Dickey would be seventh in the league in ERA if he had enough innings to qualify. Myers has had 7 quality starts in his past 8 games and posted an ERA of 2.22 in those starts.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game:

The knuckeball is the key to this game. If he has it dancing, the Mets have a great shot.

Myers has some history vs. the Mets from his days in Philadelphia. Mets have enough on him to know how to attack him. They have to be patient and allow the sinker to sink out of the strike zone instead of swinging over it. This would force Myers to elevate the pitch at which point the Mets can drive the ball.

How bout not letting Hunter Pence beat you. Dude is pretty hot right now. For the Mets, Wright seems to be streaking upward lately. Be nice for him to carry the team right about now. He does have 4 career home runs against Myers (6-28 overall though).

LETS GO METS!

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Yes the Mets are bad right now and yes there is a strong chance they will not make the playoffs but I’m trying to find a silver lining here and I think I got something.

The Mets starting pitching has been pretty good this year. Up until now the Mets have the league’s seventh best ERA (3.70) are 19th in WHIP (1.40) and 16th in K’s (825). Led by the saint of a man R.A. Dickey and his 2.54 ERA in 111 innings pitched the Mets have a pretty strong foundation set for 2011.

With Jon Niese really progressing alot better than some people thought the Mets have 4 pitchers pretty much set if they choose to re-sign Dickey. And why not. It’s clear he can pitch in the league, especially at home. 100 innings is nothing to sneeze at and traditionally knuckleballers bloom late in their careers.

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BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Mets and Phillies kick off a 3 game set @ Citifield tonight.

TV – SNY 7:10 PM
Radio – WFAN 660

New York Mets Lineup
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Angel Pagan, LF
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Carlos Beltran, CF
5. Mike Hessman, 1B
6. Jeff Francouer, RF
7. Henry Blacno, C
8. Ruben Tejada, 2B
9. R.A. Dickey, P 

Interesting fact/Trend: Last time the Phillies were at Citifield they were destroyed in 3 games. That was a long, long time ago. Another fact, Mets are 4-6 in their last 10 and 9-17 since the break. Ugly.

On a sidenote I don’t know why Mike Hessman is getting run today over Ike. Ike handles lefties and doesn’t need a day off. Also notice Thole is not catching R.A. which seems like a recipe for disaster. Who cares if Thole goes 0-4, he catches Dickey well. Oh Jerry.

Philadelphia Phillies Lineup
1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Placido Polanco, 3B
3. Raul Ibanez, LF
4. Mike Sweeney, 1B
5. Jayson Werth, RF
6. Shane Victorino, CF
7. Brian Schneider, C
8. Wilson Valdes, 2B
9. Cole Hamels, P

Note: Carlos Ruiz was in original starting line up but was scratched with Sore Right Quad
 
Interesting Fact/Trend: Phillies are 16-4 since July 21 and overcame a 7 run defecit last night to stun the Dodgers. Also, over that stretch the team is batting .300 and averaging 5.5 runs a game. Needless to say they are hot.

On the Bump:
Phils send Cole Hammels (7-8, 3.45 ERA) to the hill vs Robert Allen Dickey (7-5, 2.65 ERA).

Last time out against the Phillies did not go well for R.A. Overall he is 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA against Philly. Historically the Mets have handled Cole well, beating him 6 times in his career while only losing twice.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game:

Like any opening series Jose Reyes has to establish himself. Mets have 136 wins vs 34 losses when he scores at least one run and has one RBI. Mets need Jose to be Jose, now.

Control Jayson Werth who is absolutely on fire as of late. Hitting .500 in his past 20 AB’s. Do not let him beat you. Phillies have had some injuries and the Mets have to do a better job of getting the guys around Werth out so he doesn’t have an RBI opportunities.

R.A. Dickey needs to be R.A. Dickey. You’re only as good as that days knuckleball. If he commands it and varies speeds he’s almost a lock to win and go deep. Something the Mets need as the bullpen is not pitching well as a group and missing the best boneheaded reliever they have.

Let’s Go Mets!

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

This afternoon the Mets and Rockies close out their three game set at Citifield.

TV- SNY, 12:10 PM
Radio- WFAN 660

New York Mets Lineup
1. Jose Reyes, SS
2. Fernando Martinez, RF
3. Angel Pagan, LF
4. Ike Davis, 1B
5. Carlos Beltran, CF
6. Mike Hessman, 3B
7. Josh Thole, C
8. Ruben Tejada, 2B
9. Johan Santana, P

Interesting Fact/Trend: Mets are 6-2 in the last 8 games following a loss. What? Have to think positive right? Another interesting fact. No Wright today. Got to day off to think about striking out 4 times yesterday.

Colorado Rockies Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Ryan Spilborghs, RF
3. Carlos Gonzalez, LF
4. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
5. Melvin Mora, 1B
6. Miguel Olivo, C
7. Ian Stweart, 3B
8. Clint Barmes, 2B
9. Jason Hammel, P

Interesting Fact/Trend: Colorado hasn’t won a road series in NY in about 8 years. That’s a fact.

On the Bump:
Colorado sends RHP Jason Hammel (8-6, 4.38 ERA) to the bump while the Mets counter with LHP Johan Santana (9-6, 3.06 ERA).

With K-Rod out with a hot temper and a right cross the Mets will need a strong effort from Johan. Hammel is 1-1 with a 5.21 ERA in his past three games while Johan is coming off a gem in which he held the Phillies scoreless. Johan last faced Colorado July 30, 2009 in which he held them scoreless as well.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game

Johan has to pitch the whole game and Jerry Manuel is not allowed to talk or gesture any opinions. Stop laughing. Other Keys to the game:

Can the Mets win a series? I think they have the worst record in rubber games. If they want a shot at this one they have to be patient with Hammel who is prone to have a blow up inning. Typically he’ll shut the opposition for 4 or 5 innings then bam, he gives up a bunch of runs.

Control Tulowitzki who is like a West edition of Pat Burrell, batting .321 against the Mets lifetime. He also is riding a nice 14-29 streak in his past 7 games.

Simply put. Can the Mets put last nights tough loss behind them quick enough for the afternoon start?

Let’s Go Mets!

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Remember this. Well they went 2-6 essentially playing themselves out of the division race. June was fun. Memories. Funny how we already have June memories. As if it’s October or something. Mets need to play .700 ball to have a shot at this and it’s clear that it’s just not going to happen. Even with the addition of Fernando Martinez (did Nick Evans sleep with Minaya’s wife?) and Ruben Tejada it’s not enough.

Unfortunately for Carlos Beltran, who has worked very hard to comeback from the knee condition, simply cannot find himself at the plate or in the field. With 50 or so games left the experiment may have cost the Mets at a run. The Mets brass deciding to play Beltran basically everyday was not a wise one. Carlos needed to be worked in and not because he isn’t good anymore but because the team was better without him. And because August isn’t a time to change a dynamic of a team. Beltran should have been playing 3 times a week and serving as the 4th outfielder, not starting in center everyday.

More bitching after the jump….. Read the rest of this entry »