Posts Tagged ‘Jose Reyes’

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
EDITOR

Stats in His Mets Career

900 Games, .287 BA, 71 HR, 369 RBI, 81 Triples, 329 Stolen Bases, 1096 Hits.

His Mets Moment

It really is something special to watch a player come through the minors, come to the Majors and become the superstar caliber player that he was supposted to be when the scouts talked about him.

Jose Reyes is the guy that makes a stadium rise with an extra step on his lead from first, for every triple he claps his hands and points and had a handshake for each player after they hit a home run. His smile, his laugh and his cannon for a right arm has given Mets fans the best shortstop the franchise has had since Buddy Harrelson.

Much like his partner on the left side of the infield, his greatest Met moment hopefull hasnt come yet. But in the 2006 National League Championship Series, with the Mets facing elimination at Shea Stadium in Game 6 and taking on Cardinals Ace Chris Carpenter he got the Mets off on the right foot and helped them survive for another day.

The Mets had John Maine, an inexperienced pitcher on the mound facing the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner and ace Chris Carpenter and things were bleak after Tom Glavine was not able to beat Jeff Weaver in game 5 after the Mets tied the series behind Oliver Perez.

Maine loaded the bases in the top of the 1st with 2 outs, but got out of it when Scott Rolen flew out to Right Field and the Mets would send Jose Reyes to the plate looking to get something going and get the 56,000 fans at Shea Stadium going crazy as well.

On the 3rd pitch that Carpenter threw, Reyes hit a high drive to deep Right Center Field and got the Mets on the board with his first career Post-Season Home Run. The crowd went Wild and the Mets were in the lead and they never looked back.

Maine pitched into the 6th and the Cardinals never had the lead as the Mets forced Game 7 with a 4-2 victory. Reyes had once again sparked the Mets to a win with a first inning run and it couldnt have happened at a better time.

Jose Reyes and his future is always up for debate among Mets fans but as long as he is a Met, this moment could be and hopefully will be passed, but this was the moment that Mets fans can look back to and know this is when he announced his presence with authority.

And helped to lead the Mets to the lead early and to another Win, this time with their backs against the Wall.

Fast Facts

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BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

The Mets are going for the road sweep in Pittsburgh this afternoon. First pitch will be at 1:35 p.m. and delivered by Pirates lefty Zach Duke. The Mets own lefty Johan Santana will take the hill for New York. As usual, the Sunday afternoon tilt will be broadcast by both WPIX Channel 11 and WFAN.

By the way, Rod Barajas got picked up by the Dodgers. Huzzah. Jesus Feliciano is back in the majors as a result, and he’ll be playing for the Mets.

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

Although Chris Carter was swinging the bat well, Jerry Manuel has removed him from the lineup in favor of Jeff Francoeur. Carter has not had the chance to hit vs. a lefty with the Mets, but with Buffalo, he was 10/27 against them… why not give the guy the opportunity (is Jerry is afraid to hurt Frenchy’s feelings)? Josh Thole is another lefty absent from the lineup, but it’s a day game after a night game, so that makes sense. We all love Hessman, but I’m glad Davis is getting the chance against Zach Duke.

Interesting Fact/Trend: Before last night, PNC park was one of two ballparks that David Wright had at least 30 ABs in and had not hit a home run. Of course, that did not count the All-Star Game. He’s got the monkey off his back anyway, and the only remaining 30 AB/no-homer park is Nationals Park.

Pittsburgh Pirates Lineup
1. Andrew McCutchen, CF
2. Jose Tabata, LF
3. Neil Walker, 2B
4. Garrett Jones, 1B
5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6. Lastings Milledge, RF
7. Ronny Cedeno, SS
8. Chris Snyder, C
9. Zach Duke, P

It’s the same lineup as last night, except our old friend Lastings Milledge replaces Ryan Doumit in right field.

Interesting Fact/Trend: All 12 of Andrew McCutchen’s home runs this year have been sad solo affairs in which he only gets to high five the on-deck batter. Moving him down in the lineup would make sense to manager John Russell… if he had another player on his roster fit to lead off.

On The Bump:

Zach Duke (5-12, 5.33 ERA) takes on Johan Santana (10-7, 2.97 ERA) in a match-up that should favor the Mets. We all know how that usually works out. Still, the Mets should feel good after winning two in a row on the road. Duke’s rough season is the result of a wicked 14.5% home run to fly ball ratio (compared to 10% last season when he had a 4.05 ERA) as well as a .345 BABIP. That HR/FB rate is even more alarming considering PNC Park’s pitcher-friendly nature. Look for David Wright to go deep again.

Meanwhile, Johan is having the second half we all hoped he’d have and he’s quieted talks of his accelerated decline. The strikeouts are back, with at least 6 in each of four August starts, including a couple of double digit dandies vs. Atlanta and Colorado. He’s also sporting a 1.64 career ERA at PNC Park. Yummy.

Daily Stache’s Keys to the Game:

1. Score early again – This should be the key to every game, but it is especially so now that Santana is on the hill and the Mets have been scoring early with relative frequency. They’ve scored first in the last six games. Jose Reyes might have something to do with that.

2. Get Reyes around – Jose Reyes doesn’t have everything to do with it. They say “as Reyes goes the Mets go” but since the All-Star break, Reyes was the Mets best hitter, and… they didn’t score much at all. That’s because everyone else stunk. Now that Wright has come around, the scoreboard is getting a workout thanks to Reyes actually crossing the plate.

3. Just keep pitching – The Mets might be able to establish a respectable winning streak if their great pitching keeps up during this brief offensive renaissance. The Mets 3.25 staff ERA since the break is third best in the majors behind Oakland and Atlanta.

BY SCOTT ILOWITE
STACHE WRITER

What is it about “You”-ston? Every single time the Mets take a trip to the “Juice Box”, I need 3 Grande Mocha Frappuccino’s  just to make it though these extra-inning marathons. We figured to get good starting pitching with R.A. Dickey and Brett Myers on the hill. 

Both pitchers were as advertised. Myers went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs, while Dickey lasted 8.1 innings, but was yanked after serving up the game tying solo homer in the bottom of the 9th to Geoff Blum. 

Unfortunately, in the 12th inning, David Wright led off with a howitzer into centerfield, but immediately slowed up and had apparently injured himself. He almost walked to 1st base.

When he reached 1st, he immediately turned around and walked back to the dugout.  After the game, Jerry Manuel told reporters that David was just not feeling well. He said that he had a queasy stomach and felt a little light headed.

Bobby Parnell came in for the 11th and 12th innings and threw the best 2 innings of his career. 

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BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

I wonder if those anti-smoking ads they play during Mets game — the ones with the clogged aorta — are meant to make Mets losses look better by comparison. Maybe they’re just there to remind us to change the channel during commercial breaks. I have no idea.

The Mets lost 4-3 tonight behind another good second half start by Johan Santana. If not for Hunter Pence, Santana might have had another shutout going. And if not for Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets would be less of a joke. Unfortunately, Rodriguez is here to embarass the Mets and Pence is there to ruin Santana’s evening.

In the first inning, after Fernando Martinez gave the Mets a 1-0 lead with a single up the middle, Santana allowed the first two Houston batters to reach base. Pence was the third Astro up, and he hit crushed a hanging change-up over the left field wall for a 3-1 lead.

Though it would be fitting, Nelson Figueroa could not hold the Mets down in this game. The Amazins would strike right back in the 2nd inning when Santana feigned a bunt attempt with a runner on first and one out. Instead, Santana chopped a hard ground ball past the drawn-in third baseman. The risky play set the table for a very mildly exciting Jose Reyes RBI ground out.

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He's back

Just when it looked like the Mets would finally put their dream lineup together, it appears that Jose Reyes is still not comfortable swinging left-handed and will sit out the Mets opener vs the Giants and righty Tim Lincecum. The good news is that not only is Carlos Beltran finally returning, but swingaholics Francoeur and Barajas will be joining Reyes on the bench, allowing New York to still field a strong lineup.

Pagan will lead off and play right field, then Cora at second, then Wright, Beltran, Davis, Bay, Thole, Tejada and R.A. Dickey.

Of course, no one really knows how ready Carlos Beltran is to play tonight, which is his first major league game in over a year. His stats from rehab look pretty solid, and he’s been playing full games in center field, but Beltran hasn’t hit a home run or stolen a base yet in 14 games. I’m confident, however, that that fact will only make Beltran’s first home run first stolen base of the year so much more exciting.

Against the Mets stand the San Francisco Giants, a fellow wild card contender. Although they’ve been anchored by pitching all year (3.50 ERA is 3rd in the majors), surprisingly awesome seasons from Aubrey Huff and Andres Torres as well as the recent contributions from phenom Buster Posey have made their offense more formidable than preseason projections thought. Now if only Pablo Sandoval would produce like he’s supposed to.

Tonight, it’s AAA knuckleballer R.A. Dickey vs. Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. Let’s go Mets.

Will this current core be the future core? (PHOTO BY ICON/SMI)

In the last part of the series on leadership in the New York Mets club house, we will look at several player options. Those options include Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur, Rod Barajas, Ike Davis and Jose Reyes. We have reviewed Johan Santana, David Wright and Francisco Rodriguez.

Now, moving on, let’s further examine the rest of that list, starting with Carlos Beltran. Beltran was brought in to be the playoff-tested veteran. He was supposed to bring experience and leadership to a young core to push them over the top. He has brought the experience, but he never has brought that leadership the team sought.

Too often, his mouth has written checks that his abilities couldn’t cash. That has gotten his reputation into poor standing in both the league and the club house. Then, his health became an overwhelming issue. It still is. A leader, as previously stated, must be both on the field and produce.
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When the Mets were down, Barajas lifted them back up

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

Rod Barajas is a weird guy. On one hand he is an unapologetic free-swinger who makes Francoeur look patient and who looked absolutely terrible striking out on three pitches in his first at-bat. On the other hand, he is a constant home run threat and a great secret weapon to have at the bottom of the lineup. Just when pitchers think they can relax and lay a strike in there, Barajas is there to hit it out of the park.

That’s just what happened when Fransisco Cordero tried to make Barajas the third out of the 9th inning tonight. The hefty backstop’s big fly put the Mets up 5-4 and on their way to a victory of the same score.

In the post-game press conference Jerry Manuel said something interesting (for a change). He noted that even though Maine struggled to reach 90 MPH on the radar gun again, the Cincinnati sluggers were constantly behind on his heater. I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s not like Maine’s breaking stuff is so good that its enough to make his fastball seem quicker. Maybe his heater had a little more movement on it tonight.

I know he struck out at least one batter with a beautiful fastball that ran up and away from a lefty, fooling him into swinging. No matter what his secret is, John Maine turned in a very nice start with six Ks and two walks in six innings pitched. He gave up a couple of runs: one on a Brandon Phillips homer in the first and one when Francoeur bounced a throw past both Wright and Maine when trying to catch Jay Bruce going from first to third on a Ryan Hanigan single.
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Laynce Nix just barely got it outta there

It’s frustrating being a Mets fan. OK you already knew that, but tonight was just another good example. Here we are in year five of Oliver Perez, and some of us are still holding out hope that he can become a dependable major league pitcher. Meanwhile, good ole Mike Leake comes along, fresh out of Arizona State and already looks like mid-rotation material. Maybe finding a fourth dependable starter isn’t supposed to be this tough. Maybe it would be easier if Oliver Perez wasn’t going home and swimming around in cash Scrooge McDuck style every night.

To be fair, Oliver Perez wasn’t that bad tonight. In fact, he was pretty good. It was pleasant to see him settle down after giving up a lead-off home run to Drew Stubbs. He may not have allowed another run had Joey Votto’s 5th inning ground ball found its way into Jose Reyes’ glove. It was a ball it looked like Reyes should have gotten to, but it slipped right under him for an RBI single that gave Cincinnati a 2-1 lead. Of course Perez should never have been in position to give up the run, but he walked Leake earlier in the inning to give Cincy a chance.
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Takahashi came to the rescue yet again

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

The Mets employed Zombieland’s rule #2 today versus Los Angeles. Johan Santana and the ensemble shut down the Dodgers in the afternoon with a 4-0 shutout, and then the orange and blue crew finished the job at night with a 10-5 thumping. That means it’s now six in a row for the Mets. It’s safe to say things have been going swimmingly for the past week.

In the opener, Johan Santana continued the theme of awesome Mets pitching by getting out of an early jam and then continuing to have another really good outing. Super Johan didn’t make things look exceedingly easy, but as we learned from Big Pelf on Sunday, not all shutouts are pretty. Johan struggled through six innings, throwing 115 pitches in the process. All three of his walks came in the second inning, but he got out of it by striking out his counterpart Hiroki Kuroda with the bases loaded. In the third, Reed Johnson blasted a triple to center with only one out, but Johan escaped trouble again with an Andre Ethier line out and a Matt Kemp ground out.
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Is Johan pitching in a must win game

FRANK GRAY
STACHE WRITER

The first week of official major league baseball action is almost over. In this first week, there have been a few pitchers flirting with no hitters. There have been a few hitters with multiple home run games. There has even been an incident of a home team creating controversy with promoting ticket sales for fans of a rival.

In this week, locally, the New York Mets have had a lackluster week at best. A roller coaster of extremes to be sure. They lost two games to the division rival Florida Marlins. But are in position to take their first series of the season against the Nationals. In the words of Meatloaf ‘two out of three ain’t bad’. That’s what the Mets are hoping for after a week of uninspiring baseball.
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