Fun Mets Fact: Not only is Ed Kranepool the Mets’ all-time leader in hits, he actually had more career hits than all the team’s current hitters (excluding pitchers) combined had with the franchise entering the season.
221 Comments
Advertisement
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
In the AL, managers sometimes put a fast runner/high OBP guy in the ninth spot and say, “it’s like having two lead-off hitters the second time around.” With Pete Orr in the lead-off spot for the Braves, it’s like having two pitchers hitting.
JC, we could put Pratt and LaRoche in the 7, 8 holes and we could have 4 pitchers batting.
Pratt’s not that bad a hitter… I really liked the way he worked the count, fouled off pitches, and drew a walk the other night. He’s a nice bottom-of-the-order hitter to have.
Of course, he’s no John Thomson or Brandon Arroyo.
It’s Bronson Arroyo by the way.
Mac, posted this in the recap, but for general oversight as well..
Word on the Street on Logan Young’s death:
Sources now saying Logan Young was drunk at the time of his death. He was under house arrest as part of a plea deal – as part of that deal, he was not to consume alcohol. Following kidney surgery, he was on a drug called Coumadin to thin his blood. He fell, bled perfusely due to the drug, didn’t call 911 for fear of legal trouble?, and died. Alcohol led him to kidney failure, and it appears it may have led to his untimely passing.
Nope, It’s Brandon. Just ask Tim McCarver during the entire 2004 playoffs.
Haha. I hate Buck and McCarver…and Joe Morgan, as well, while I’m at it.
How many homegrown kids are on the Mets’ 25-man roster?
There can’t be more than 5 or 6.
Can’t argue with you there Buck and McCarver are terrible along with all of the other FOX announcers. I hate how FOX has the rights to the playoffs.
I gotta say that if were a drinker and on house arrest, it’d be very difficult for me to sit around the house not drinking.
It seems like most of the people on here hate all announcers that aren’t Braves broadcasters. I enjoy listening to Joe, Skip, Chip, Pete, and Don. However, the broadcasters who work for Fox or ESPN are not that bad in my opinion. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t notice a bias. I always get the sense of admiration for Cox and teh Braves from Jeff Brantley, Chris Berman, Rick Suttcliffe, etc.
I hate chip.
Yeah Cory, but as an announcer myself, I think the laid back style of Joe, Skip, Chip, and Pete (hmm, wonder who I left out) are great. There’s no psychoanalytic thought behind why Pedro threw a slider in a 2-2 count, just four guys who like to tell jokes and have fun while giving an accurate depiction of the game – works for me!
We sold Obermueller to Japan. Straight cash homey.
I don’t mind most of the ones on ESPN, though I really didn’t like the announcers last night and I don’t like Morgan, but the FOX announcers are just terrible. They don’t concentrate on the game, they have inane things like Scooter the talking baseball, and they use the same talking points throughout the playoff series. I don’t know how many times I heard about Scott Spiezio’s band Sandfrog or that Kevin Appier owns two camels.
Wryn, I couldn’t agree with you more. I really enjoy those guys–I think they’re the best in the business, and I’ve never heard another TV announcer to make me rethink my belief. I will say that I like Don Sutton, however, although Skip and Joe are probably my absolute favorites.
Wright, Reyes, Heilman, the rookie in the rotation, Bannister… That’s about it. No, Anderson Hernandez, that makes five. Six if you count KAZMAT who hasn’t played for another US team but isn’t exactly a farm system product.
Raoul, I’d say that’s about the best that we could ever have hoped for out of the Kolb fiasco.
Who’d a thunk we could even get a penny for the poor bastard?
I like some of the ESPN guys. Steve Stone, for one. And Jon Miller. Sutcliffe bites.
Sutcliffe is terrible. Most former players blow. Cosell had a good rant on it.
My one problem with John Miller, is whenever a conversation with Barry Bonds comes up, he’s in no position to take a stance, given the fact that he’s a Giants radio announcer.
I like the addition of Chip. I’ve always enjoyed Skip, Pete, and Don. Joe is really beginning to get on my nerves. I actually like Joe Morgan. I don’t often agree with him, but I do like watching him and Miller.
Jon Miller = Good
Joe Morgan = Moron
Rick Sutcliffe = Sucks + Idiot
Skip, Joe, Pete = Awesome
I don’t see what being the Giants radio announcer has anything to do with his ability to take a stance. He’s in fact in a better position to make certain judgements and could actually choose not to make certain statements so as not to negatively affect his job environment.
I don’t like however the way ESPN is covering Barry Bonds. I don’t enjoy watching Baseball Tonight and cutting in to see what Barry did. I honestly don’t care. I feel like they are making the whole thing worse by giving Barry what Barry thrives on…. ATTENTION!
However, whenever he takes a stance, it’s always something positive. Have you ever once heard him say something negative about Bonds?
Skip is the best.
No one, while on TV, really says anything negative about Bonds.
No kidding about Bonds. He is a story sure, but the real story is the game not the fact that he popped up once and walked twice.
Bonds on Bonds is a prime example of how someone or even an entity like ESPN can systematically target Bonds (while deserved) on radio and through the headlines they release, but also still completely manipulate his marketing potenial.
Hypocrite warning.
ESPN radio is a Bonds character bash, but ESPN TV is Bond$ New$ Network.
Here is tonight’s lineup:
Giles
Betemit
Langerhans
Jones
LaRoche
Francouer
McCann
Orr
Davies
Hey, that’s not bad. I love seeing Betemit batting second, although I still with LaRoche and McCann were switched in the order.
The Mets have their own rival to Hammer in this gem of a fan rally song.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-mets-newsong,0,7279509.mp3file?coll=ny-rangers-print
I just wish LaRoche would try to make better contact. His swing is just so long, which leads to so many K’s.
Wow, Bobby got the lineup right!…more or less.
Does anyone know of a free audio stream for the Braves or is that all on lockdown?
Umm, where’s the game?
Starts at 7:10 ET, latnam, don’t think it’s on yet.
Ahh there it is. My cable box lied to me, said the game was coming on at 7:00, but I flipped over, and was getting something completely different. Anyway, its all good now.
Looks like they’ve stopped the free Gameday audio, which is too bad. I might have to put up the $15 and get it.
…it’ll be nice to see how the lineup works for us tonight… I think it’ll be good
no Turner South for me tonight…I’ll have to settle with gameday… sometimes thats so hard having to wait for them to post what’s happened! lol
Yeah, that lineup is a DEFINITE upgrade.
Baseball Injury Report — The Hardball Times
The Baseball Injury Report is more like the Braves injury report. (Plus an ex-Brave, Klesko.) Sheesh.
Giles has a little issue with swinging at the first pitch, but he has been walking a bunch, so I probably shouldn’t complain.
Alright, Wilson!
How the hell did Betemit not score there?
And Ryno tees off… beautiful double. Our guys are pulling the ball and hitting it hard–I like that.
I’m surprised they aren’t taking more pitches. But they certainly are pounding the ball…
Oh no….why are we wearing those CRAPPY helmets???
except Andruw … he has to know that Zambrano wants no part of him there…
Well, how about that.
….WGST is broadcasting free online…
I’m listening
Das Unibrau strikes again!
LaRoche, what a hero.
Now that was a nice overall approach for Adam. Nice swinging.
Wow, cool! Thanks for the tip, Miranda!
I like the way Davies is getting ahead of hitters this inning.
Keeping the ball low, too.
Dang….that was a pretty smooth inning. Nice work, Kyle.
I like “Das Unibrau”. Can’t we at least make him masculine, though?
Der Unibrau?
I find it surprising that the WGST feed is slower than MLB Gameday.
Maybe this calls for a poll. Should Adam’s nickname be masculine?
Yes
No
At least non-neuter, right? I wouldn’t mind “Die Unibrau, Die”, but I’m a nerd.
That’s what I was noticing ….gameday had Brian’s out recorded and WGST was just starting his AB lol
Hah!
roll it
DP… yes! good job!
Paints the corner beautifully against Valentin… Davies is looking like he’s on tonight.
Just started my mlb.tv to watch the game, I am so glad to find out Bobby finally puts Orr at the bottom of the batting order.
Nice work Kyle!
The SNY guys are saying Zambrano’s hammy is hurting…he may be leaving the game anytime…
Miranda can I get a link?
wgst.com
WGST.com, if that’s what you are referring to.
Yup… sorry… I was trying to copy something and wasn’t having good luck with it. LOL
…they just said that Boyer had his surgery today
Giles, the speedster!
MVP!!!
Andruw~!
Never throw the same pitch 3 times. That’s retarded.
An-DRUW!!
AJ Baby! Thanks for the link guys.
MVP!!!!
Yes!! BEAUTIFUL Andruw!
Sutton thinks the 3-2 pitch was a fastball…
Or maybe it wasn’t. This is what I get for paying attention to the Mets announcers.
Gosh, this is fun.
1B20~!
Adam, woke up. Yes!
Wow.
Howdy, folks, I’m checking in a bit late tonight, but I have a few thoughts:
1) Davies is dealing.
2) LaRoche had a very nice at-bat in the 1st.
3) This line-up is a welcome change.
4) Joe Simpson is actually my favorite of the Braves’ announcers. I like that he calls out bad umpires and stupid moves by players.
5) I love Victor Zambrano.
Joe’s quote of the night (so far):
In regards to Zambrano throwing a fastball 3-2,
“That was just DUMB.”
P.S. Adam LaRoche is awesome. At least tonight.
The Wrong Zambrano. How apt.
Der Unibrau, with 3 RBI’s tonight…
If it wasn’t Victor Zambrano on the hill tonight, I’d think the world had gone kooky.
ADAM!!!
LaRoche! WooHoo!
I wish Chipper could be in on the action too…
Roachy!
Mets announcers blaming this on the “tightly wound baseballs.”
And the fact that Zambrano’s throwing them right down the middle.
Those tightly wound baseballs must also explain Xavier Nady. Probably Wright and Delgado, too.
HAHA… they’ve gotta come up with some excuse I guess!
Chris Woodward? Homered? WTF!
ok Kyle, don’t relax…
If Endy Chavez hits a HR I’ll puke.
oh.. crap… okay don’t allow any other runs! ..we got that out of our system… no more for the mets!
That play was beautiful.
Betemit made a nice play on that ball… slid to a stop and made a strong throw to get Endy Chavez, who can run.
Well, the solo HR sucked, but at least he didn’t give in and let them rally. I like what I’m seeing from Davies today–if we can have him pitch well this year, we’ll be in really good shape.
The game is moving pretty quickly. I’m glad we don’t have to deal with Steve Trachsel anymore.
Agreed!
I’m actually fine with the bottom of our order seeing not many pitches. This means Zambrano will not tire and will be left in for the top of the order to continue teeing off on him.
And it’s not like they’re putting weak swings on the ball, either.
Maybe that’s the plan for the Braves tonight, haha!
Fun alert: Randy Johnson and NYY getting massacred. 6 runs for Toronto, not even done with the 2nd inning.
Evidently this is the right Zambrano afterall.
and
What is up with LaRoche? I guess I can’t hate on him tonite. That Sucks!!!
I love to hear that kind of news Jenny.
Keep it comin…
Oh come on! Eject Delgado.
1-2-3! Alright, Kyle!
Uh…WGST? No fifth inning?
Did we just lose the game?
Mets announcers: “Betemit is the most underrated player in the league.”
Okay, I like the guy and I like that the opposing announcers are giving him props. But there’s no way that’s true.
yeah, cbssportline already has Giles fly out and Betemit walked.
yea… that’s what I was thinking… who knows?? we haven’t heard commercials throughout the whole game until now!
Who wins that award? Garrett Atkins?
I’m guessing Don must have gone to the bathroom or something…
well I wish he’d hurry it up!!
ahhhhh…dead air….
I think WGST realized that they were broadcasting a baseball game for free. The free feed almost never lasts all game.
I think you’re right.
MVP
MVP!!!
Guess he finally figured out how to hit the breaking ball.
Andruw~!
Was that pitch as low as it looked on Gameday?
MVP2!!!!!
I think one of the more underrated players is their own third baseman. People aren’t nearly as scared of Wright as they should be. He’s a terrifying hitter and a great defender. I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves. Guys are just now starting to notice him.
And I’d say Langerhans is more underrated than Betemit. Chase Utley is also very underrated.
And as I’m typing…ANDRUW!
Man, 0-2 pitch too.
Andruw Jones is HUUUUUUUGGGGGGEEEEEEEE
WOW… AWESOME Andruw!! WooHoo
So … does he challenge Hack Wilson’s record this year? He’s off to a great start.
Yeah, that pitch was almost in the dirt.
That was an absurdly good at-bat by LaRoche–I almost have respect for him.
Adam!!! A triple away from a cycle…then he will have another 3Ks game tomorrow…
you know what’s interesting? when it’s 7-1 braves, all the mets fans stop posting.
what a mystery.
maybe they realized that it’s time to stop calling the season in april
“Tightly wound baseballs” is a Hawk Harrelson theory, and therefore a joke.
I disagree about Wright, jenny. I agree that he may be a tad underrated, but the fact that he’s getting MVP publicity (and has been since before the season) means he’s not as underrated as Betemit, who is, I think, still an afterthought to most. We, of course, know that he’s a very good player.
I also think Betemit is more underrated than Langerhans, largely because I’m not convinced that Langy isn’t playing over his head offensively right now. I do think Betemit has star potential and is more of a proven commodity than Langy at this juncture.
I’m sure there may well be more underrated players in the NL than Betemit (of those in this game, I’d say McCann is pretty darn underrated), but I don’t think Wright and Langerhans qualify.
Andruw is the bomb.
Ron Darling is full of himself….
Why are the still leaving Zambrano in?
If there’s one thing we can take from today’s game, it’s that LaRoche can definitely hit Victor Zambrano. I don’t have his lifetime numbers in front of me, though…
Fun alert for Randy Johnson’s pitching line:
3 IP, 8 hits, 7 R (7 ER), 1 BB, 2K, 2HR
7-4 Toronto, by the way. Top of the 4th
Betemit is wildly underrated. Here’s a .300 hitter (or more) with doubles power who plays a pretty good third base and an adequate shortstop (despite that error) and people are still saying that the Braves should trade him for middle relief help.
LaRoche v. Victor Zambrano lifetime:
5-12, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI 0 K’s
thats right, braves fans… ZERO K’s
Yes, he’s underrated. But the most in the league?
56 pitches through 5 innings is pretty darn good.
Just signed on. Andruw should make Shea his first son’s middle name. And Davies is looking good tonight!
as a side note… andruw had been 1-10 against zambrano lifetime with no HRs.
2-3 and 2 HRs tonight… not bad, following the night when he hit his first career HR against Pedro. it seems like he’s figuring out the pitchers that used to get him out all the time
Right now, in terms of fantasy baseball, Oscar “Vulch” Villarreal is the most overrated player in the league.
I can picture mr. met right now sitting at his parents computer, knowing if he even tries to chime in, he will be shot down by all who are present.
Now that is one heck of a run on sentence…
Only if you don’t expect him to win 40 games this year, AAR.
I think Chase Utley is a really underrated player. I’m scared to death of that guy. But most underrated in the whole league is tough. I don’t really know the western and half the central teams well enough to point one guy out. But, if there is a most underrated player, wouldn’t that ranking cause people to sit up and take notice (and, if we can point him out, then surely there is someone more underrated out there)?
Surely the most underated is chris shelton. It’s not as if he made out to be the next barry bonds everytime you turn on the sports-a-ma-phone.
eek. Orr has looked fairly uncomfortable at 3rd the past few games… is it me?
That was a tough play. Orr is already playing better defense at third base than I have expected.
When it comes to Delgado, Davies is the Anti-Sosa.
Delgado is swinging like Adam tonight…
kc, agreed it’s a tough play… but he didnt even like… smother it or anything… those are the type of things that can be killer… i’m not saying to get the out, but managers, pitchers, and fans alike would like to see that ball at least get knocked down
Crap, what happened to Marcus?
And does this move Orr to 2nd, Betemit to 3rd? Or Is Pena just gonna stay at 2nd?
A walk? What world is this?
I imagine with a 6 run lead, they are just trying to get Marcus some rest. Then again, I don’t have the game on TV, so I’m just speculating.
Marcus has a strained quad he’s playing through, so, with the lead, I guess Bobby wants to sit him a spell.
Hah. GJ, Tony Jr.! We’ll take a walk there. :-p
2 things:
1) If it were just a defensive substitution, they would have let Marcus at least bat here and put Pena in at the bottom of the inning.
2) I noticed Marcus fidgeting with his side after turning that DP in the first. I’m betting this has something to do with that…crap.
Tony Pena can now rest easy: he’s matched the career accomplishments of Eddie Gaedel.
Alex says that he’ll shut up about LaRoche for a week if he hits for the cycle.
Yeah, probably Utley, but not for much longer. I’d say that at least they’re on the right track. Most of the time the “underrated” guy is someone who can’t actually hit.
just curious, who thinks andruw will have another 13 homerun month but this time to start the season?
LaRoche sucks!!! 🙂
Davies: 77 pitches, 54 strikes. This has been a huge outing from him.
Called it! Musical infield positions.
You called the only possible solution….
Pena could’ve stayed at 2B.
And Davies can stay in the rotation for a long time.
Dude, Pena staying at 2B would make absolutely no sense, given the rest of the infield. It was Cox’s only move.
I agree about Davies. I said it before and I’ll say it again: I’d kiss him on the mouth.
Have I not told you guys that LaRoche is coming around?
Tough break for Pena. He smashed that ball.
bring on the Mets! oh wait..
I really can’t stand these ‘my south’ commercials. These are so absolutely terrible.
I loved the ‘they gave him a glove for no reason’ comment
Finally able to stop in today and thank you young Mr. Kyle Davies.
And Adam. wow.
As for Andruw, I missed both his homers which further proves my theory: Andruw hates when I watch him. Ha!
This has been one heckuva game for Davies. Very impressive.
Julio is a human victory cigar…for the Mets opponents!!!
Well, back to a discussion we had last week, Julio is always one of those ex-Braves from now on I will love and respect.
I love Julio Franco. I hope you realize I was talking about Jorge Julio…
kc was talking about Jorge Julio.
But I agree about Franco. I’ll always love him.
Me too, Alex R.
Thanks for fixing that, Stu.
As I said to Mac on the phone a little while ago, this game should expose that the Mets are a lot pitching thinner then people admit.
Victor sucks.
c’mon… let’s put this game away here and come back tomorrow and do the same thing we’re doing today!
Alex R, those Mets fans will never be smart enough to realize how thin their pitching is. They think Pedro can make 162 starts and Wagner can pitch 300 innings in one season.
Speaking of sucks, here’s Jose Reyes.
Although at least Mets fans tend to admit that Victor Zambrano is absolutely worthless, regardless of whether Rick Sutcliffe has noticed it yet.
So they’re without two of their hitters, and we’re without two of our hitters. We just hung a hat trick on Delgado, and absolutely pummeled their starting pitcher. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the Mets are the Mets. It’s like Homer Simpson Syndrome. They’ll always be the Mets.
Let’s give the Golden Sombrero to Delgado…
Zambrano and Traschel both are average to below average and Bannister is unproven. Their pen is completely overrated…Bradford, Heilman, Sanchez, Julio…it could be an adventure for them to GET to Wagner.
I don’t deny their strong offense when healthy (and ours when healthy), but I will take our pitching over 162 vis a vis theres.
Good enough for me. 🙂
that’s a wrap… well done fellas… good game tonight
Ladies and gentlemen, Kyle Davies.
9 innings, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, 6 strikeouts. The kid’s arrived.
Alex R, that is painful obvious. The Mets fans and ESPN just can’t see it.
Kyle is awesome!!!
That was flat-out dominant.
Where is NY METS?
He arrived last year, AAR. It was a great start for him, though. And we really needed it.
And no trolls.
Wow. Helluva game from Davies. Now THIS is the rotation I thought we had. 🙂
Damn skippy, kc.
Boy, that damn Roger McDowell has screwed our rotation up bad. I don’t know how we are gonna catch the presumptive 2006 NL East Champion Mets.
I’m actually a big BravesJournal fan. I just served up those gopherballs to shut NY METS up.
77 of 106 pitches were strikes. That’s what I like to see.
On a more serious note, let’s hope Hudson can put it all together tomorrow. Is the starter for the Mets tomorrow Glavine?
AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!
Now that was a great game… from the looks of gameday! HAHA… wish I had been able to see it on tv… I’ll definately be watching sportscenter tonight!
That was GREAT!
I’m going to enjoy watching Baseball Tonight.
John Kruk, Harold Reynolds and the rest of ESPN can eat sh*t and die.
Tear in My Beer
1 – 16 oz beer
tears
Open beer and enjoy a lonely cry if you’re a troll.
Going back to something Mac said earlier, the Mets have 5 true farm-raised products on their team.
That’s why I dislike them – it’s one thing if you raise your own players, develop fan loyalty around your folks, watch them grow up and mature before your eyes..
It’s completely different what the Mets are doing – trading and then signing folks short-term for bundles of money. Mets fans have absolutely no fan association with Lo Duca, Delgado, Franco, Beltran .. these are just players they signed to big free agent contracts.
For the Braves, it’s pretty much all home-grown. Smoltz technically isn’t, but Andruw, Chipper, Francoeur, Betemit, Giles, LaRoche, McCann, Davies.. the solid backbone of our team is all home grown. That’s the way the game should be played.
Question brought up while watching tonight’s game – when Piazza comes up to bat in Shea this year, cheered or jeered?
Smoltz has been with the Braves for 17 years. He’s never pitched for another major league team. If he doesn’t deserve home grown allegiance then only a handful of players do.
True Jeff – I was referencing the fact the Braves did not draft Smoltz, but I wholeheartedly agree – just making a point between the disparity of homegrown talent on both teams.
Am I mistaken, or was every Brave that stepped on the field tonight home-grown? Correct me if I am wrong. I totally agree, though. Developing your own talent is one of the great parts of baseball, and I can’t imagine how, as a fan, you could associate with a team full of purchased players.
You are correct, TB.
Excellent point.
Thats a great point about the Mets…Phillies are far more home grown and therefore, less hateable then the Mets. Absolutely true.
And Smoltzie is definitely a homegrown player at this point.
Yes, I think that’s right. It makes a statement in a culture of impermanence to see an organization that confident in itself, and that successful because of it.