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June 13, 2006
Upcoming Series: Philadelphia Phillies Pitchers
After a dominating four game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, your 39-23 New York Mets return to the east coast and another of their favorite ballparks, Citizen’s Bank. The Philadelphia Phillies, who were playing great baseball just last week, are now 33-30 and six and a half games out of first place after losing three of four to the red-hot Washington Nationals. With the Phillies bats struggling, and the Mets running all cylinders, this could be make or break series for Philadelphia. The Mets and Phils have split the season series so far, 3-3, so this is a big series for both teams — and their last against each other until the beginning of August. In the first game of the set, the ageless wonder Tom Glavine (9-2, 3.06) takes on the only opponent Willie Randolph has ever praised, Ryan Madson (6-3, 5.71). In the second game, “El Duque” Orlando Hernandez (4-5, 5.48) goes to the mound against the Phillies ace righthander Brett Myers (4-2, 3.44). And, in the series finale, the ever-struggling Steve Trachsel (3-4, 4.70) looks for a “W” against the Mets old pal, Cory Lidle (4-5, 4.68). Game 1: Ryan MadsonWhat’s the Story? Coming into the season, Ryan Madson was expected to step up in a big way for the Philadelphia Phillies. A decent starter for the vast majority of his minor league career, Madson was brought up by the Phillies in 2004 to eat innings out of the pen. Madson did more than that, however, and was arguably the second best reliever for the Phils behind Billy Wagner. The following year — with more expectations and higher pressure situations — he filled in admirably, though was not nearly as dominant as the year before. Coming into the season Phillies GM Pat Gillick decided that the pen was solidified enough, and moved Madson into the starting rotation. Things, however, didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to. Madson was rocked in his big league debut as a starter, getting six starts and posting an ERA of 6.82 (Twenty-three runs off of an amazing forty-nine hits in thirty innings pitched) before he was demoted back to the pen. However, due to injury (Jon Lieber) and overall suckiness (Gavin Floyd), Madson’s returned to the rotation. Madson features a low-90’s fastball, a decent curveball, and, when on, one of the best changeups in the game. This Year: Madson was, of course, the reliever that came out of the pen in that sixteen-inning marathon of a game against the Phillies earlier this season. With the score tied 8-8 in the ninth inning, Ryan Madson came into the game — and went seven innings before finally delivering a fastball to Carlos Beltran that would eventually wind up being a game-winning homerun. Over those seven innings Madson allowed four hits, the one run, walked four and stuck out six. What to Expect: After Madson’s dominant relief performance against the Mets he was put back in the rotation, and has been up and down again. In seventeen and two thirds innings he’s allowed nine runs off of twenty hits, though his command has been steady in two of the three outings (six walks, eleven strikeouts — five walks coming in one game). Madson’s always killed the Mets out of the pen, and if this season’s performance is any indication he still does. As I said before, when his changeup is on it’s a dominating pitch, and he’ll throw it about a quarter of the time, interspersed with his fastball. His curve is a decent backup pitch, though he throws it more to righties. He likes to pound the bottom of the strike zone, and will pitch predominantly away. Hitters should keep an eye out for the change with two strikes on them. Game 2: Brett MyersWhat’s the Story? For Brett Myers’ original scouting report, click here. This Year: The Mets have faced Myers twice this season and he has, as per usual, pitched well. In his two starts he is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.00. Over fifteen innings he’s allowed five runs off of thirteen hits, as well as two homeruns by Jose Reyes and Xavier Nady, respectively. He’s also walked two and struck out twelve. The Phillies have gone on to win both games he’s appeared in. What to Expect: Myers has been rolling this season, despite the 4-2 record. Since the beginning of the season he hadn’t allowed more than three runs a start, his control issues were a thing of the past, and his attitude was firmly in check. Then the Washington Nationals trounced him for six runs in three innings and everything kinda fell apart. Obviously, this isn’t the norm for him — but it does show that Myers isn’t untouchable and it helps that this is his first start since the beating. As his last start was only three innings, Myers will be very well-rested and may come out overthrowing his pitches for the first couple innings — something Mets hitters should look to capitalize on, as the Phillies offense hasn’t scored many runs for the guy all season. Game 3: Cory LidleWhat’s the Story? For Cory Lidle’s original scouting report, click here. This Year: There was a lot of debate on this site the last time the Mets went to Philadelphia about the turnaround of Cory Lidle. At the time he was pitching reasonably well, and looked to be stepping into the role as a solid number three starter. Then the Mets hit the bejesus out of him. In two innings Lidle gave up eight runs — five earned — off of seven hits. He walked one, and struck out nobody. But, the silver lining on that cloud? He didn’t give up any homeruns! What to Expect: In all seriousness, Lidle’s back to looking like a solid middle of the rotation starter. Since that clubbing he’s had six starts, and hasn’t pitched less than six innings in any of them (though he hasn’t gone more than six and a third in any of them either). He also hasn’t allowed more than three runs, except for one game where he allowed four against a pretty good offensive ballclub in Boston. One thing to take note of: since his start against the Mets, he has been struggling mightily with his command and pitch placement. In the six starts before facing the Mets he walked only six hitters — however, in his exactly six starts since facing the Mets he’s walked twenty-one. It’s something hitters should keep in the back of their minds. Overall:The Mets offense, which appears to be pretty streaky, has been on fire of late. Whether it be in a good pitcher’s park (eighteen runs in the Dodgers series) or a good hitter’s park (thirty-seven against the D-Backs), they’ve kept chugging along. Citizen’s Bank Park, and the pitchers the Phillies are throwing, should help continue this roll. This is an important series with the Mets not facing both the Braves and the Phillies anytime soon, so this is their last chance to widen a lead on one of them for awhile. The next division rival they see is the Florida Marlins on the seventh of July. In this series, however, the Mets have two solid pitchers going — one being the National League Wins leader Tommy Glavine, and the other being El Duque, now 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA as a Met. Steve Trachsel, is, well… Alay Soler just can’t pitch three times a week. The Phillies counter with two average-to-lousy starters , and Brett Myers — the anti-Trachsel. That being said, I expect both to get a win, and therefore predict the Mets to go 2-1 in this series. Predicted Record: 35-27 47 Responses to “Upcoming Series: Philadelphia Phillies Pitchers”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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I like the odds of the Mets playing the way they are right now vs the Phillies playing the way they are right now, but I don’t like the matchups.
Madson’s posted a lot of mediocre numbers but I don’t know why, every time I see him pitch he looks like an ace. His curveball can be mediocre, but it can also be unhittable (because of his extreme over-the-top arm slot I’d guess it’s hard to judge the break). The park will work against Glavine unless he busts out another high-K game.
Duque really hasn’t been that good for most of the last 6 years, and Myers made Wright look foolish the last time they faced off.
Lidle is very hittable, but Trachsel when he’s going badly (as he has been for much of this year) is even moreso.
I think the first game will be key. If our bats keep rolling, we’re in good shape. If Madson can stop our momentum, though, coming back and beating Myers will be a tall order. A sweep for either team wouldn’t surprise me…
Well, we’re on fire now, I’ll call that the sweep goes to the Mets.
i hope to see delgado really turn it on in this bangbox. hit over the shift carlos.
I just spit out my morning bagel. Remember what happened the last time we predicted a sweep? Ask Andrew… he knows… the name of the grave.
I’d be thrilled with a series victory. A sweep will be all but impossible without a consistent 10-run effort from the offense.
Mmmmmm . . . Spit-Out Bagel. My favorite breakfast treat!
It’s possible Met pitching could have trouble with the bandbox, but as with ‘Zona, the Met bats should be thundering. I’m thinking 2 of 3.
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Short post on the Mets, including the Top Ten candidates to replace Howie Rose til Gary Cohen returns, are just a click on me’ name away.
All Star Voting
Fellow Mettie fans, D Wright has taken the lead but lets keep the momentum going. There are hundreds of Cardinal fans voting for Rolen and Eckstein right now. Reyes trails Eckstein by over 50,000 votes.
Beltran is in 3rd place in the OF vote but ahead of Soriano by less than 1,000 votes. We should be able to get Carlos in ahead of Griffey Jr.
Remember pass on to the family friends. Voting end June 29th and you can vote up to 25x per e-mail account.
Off-topic, but check out the hilarious back page photo in the Post today with Pedro wearing a crown! A very nice piece on how the Mets are stealing the city from the Yankees! I plan on buying 4-5 copies this morning and plastering them all over my Yankee-fan-ridden office - yeah, I need a new job to get away from these clowns!
Let’s Go Mets!!!!
We need to get Carlos Beltran and David Wright to the all star game, Carlos was 2nd and now third
an he’s leading Alfonso soriano by less than a thousand votes. Lets go mets!!!!!! Please vote forr
our guys.
GATZARE ZAMBRANO!!!! I agree. We should have more than a couple of all stars this year and there is no reason why David Wright shouldn’t be the starter at 3rd base.
Any chance of us voting Zambrano to the all star team? Hmm maybe we can get his jersey retired for officially being the worst player in Mets history.
I think its too early to call this a make or break series, but the Phils would certainly help their cause if they took 2 of 3. Very big differenc ebetween 5.5 and 7.5 games out. If we can leave the month of June 5 or 6 games up, I like our chances.
I like our chances tonight against Madson so I agree with Andrew and think we’ll get 2 of 3.
Reyes is possible to get to the game too….
It would be nice if the Mets could get Beltran, Reyes, Wright, and LoDuca to the game but more importantly when they go to the game they should be announced as the team with the best record in the NL New York Mets
I know we all like voting for the Mets, but after Wright, Beltran, and Delgado, we really need to put a team out there to win cause we have a legitamite shot this year and i want home field.
What do you expect to have? Middle-of-the-lineup hitters 1 through 8? And offense is your only concern? How about pitching? How about defense? I personally like having a 23 year-old shortstop that is on pace to go for 15 HRs, 130 runs, 80 RBIs, 70 BBs and 70 steals while playing Gold-Glove caliber defense. He may help the team “win”.
Or how about a veteran catcher that has done a great job of handling a chaotic back-end of the rotation, while batting in the 2-hole and coming up with a collection of clutch hits? I guess I would like that too.
There is also a 21 year-old phenom OF just getting his feet wet in the bigs, who oozes talent and attitude.
I could go on… Are we ever happy?
Short answer - No. ;)
The news is similar, it has Pedro pointing to the sky, and a little picture of A-643 at the end of his swimg looking up, so it looks like he is looking at Pedro.
There is nothing wrong with abusing Yankee fans, they deserve it, if they are the type that has been saying “We” when referring to the team.
In a way, I hate that the team is now getting so much press. It scares me because if there is a slump, the next set of stories will be about how the Mets are done.
Catch-22.
I think he was talking about fielding a good NL all-star team since winner of the all-star game gets home field in the series.
A-643???
I assume that’s A-Rod, but why?
Ahhhh, 6-4-3. Got it.
Note to self: Duh!
I guess I needed to hear Fran tell me to “score it six to four to three.”
*grabs head like Culkin in Home ALone*
NOOOOOOOO! Not Fran.
Anyone but Fran.
Well, except for John Sterling.
i’m not asking for a sweep..i just want their team to continue to play well…taking 2 out of 3 would be awesome, go mets
How’s about a hybrid of the two, Fran Sterling: Tha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a Yankees score it six to four to three.
I assure of such a hideous monster existed, I’d dedicate the remaining days of my natural born life (and even a few days of the un-naturally born one) to elimiating that scourge from the face of the earth.
Sometimes ya gotta face down evil and do what ya gotta do.
Don’t forget when Tom “Muppet” Seaver used to muse about his golf game and Southern California anecdotes no one in Mets land cared about. He was a phenomenal pitcher, but man, listening to that guy speak was too much.
The “True” Heath Bell facto of the day: His friends call him whiskers because he is curious like a cat
seaver-
your right. he was probably the most boring broadcaster in Mets history.
healy was the dumbest in Mets history.
staub had trouble putting together a sentence.
i believe healy, seaver and staub were the worst broadcasters in Mets history.
on the other hand, cohen may be the all time best in Mets history. although i will always have fond memories of mccarver, kiner and murphy.
they were all great in their own way….
Im kinda getting sick of Cohen screaming about walk off hits. The other day he had the gall to say the mets got a walk of sacrifice fly. Its walk off HR or its simply a game winning rbi. I agree with keith hernandez that walk off line is crap
And here I thought that was because when he pitches, the Mets win by a whisker ;)
Yeah, on second thought, that’s not very funny.
I’m still posting it though.
Annoying, but not as much as broadcasters who insist upon calling a no-hitter a “no-no”, like a 2 year old child. Makes me want to Elvisize the TV screen.
As for this series, the Phillies need it more. I’m hoping for 2, but even 1 leaves the Mets with a 5 1/2 game lead. Just don’t get swept and let the Phils get their confidence back. And if the Mets should sweep, time to call the printer re: October tickets.
Back in the day (what, like 2 years ago before ESPN created “walk off hit”), a GWRBI was given to whoever drove in the run that put the winning team in the lead for good, no matter the inning. The first run in a 4-3 victory where the winner never trailed or tied was the GWRBI. It could even be in the first inning. By the way, the stat was dropped in 1989 (thanks Google!)
Keith actually holds the single season record with 24, and the alltime record with 129.
This walk off stuff is only for a GWRBI during last ups (or perhaps this will be changed to “Lastings” on the milledge cool facts site). So it fits. You get the hit to drive in the GW run, you walk off.
That does not make it any less annoying however.
It is nice to have stupid stuff like this to bitch about though.
39 - 23 6.5 game lead.
Are we having fun yet?
At the risk of starting another “superstition” debate, please take this back. WAY too much time left. Think Angels losing 11 game lead to Mariners a few years ago.
My bad, i thought i metioned Reyes, but Lo Duca i’m not sure he is the best option to start i mean he won’t be hitting in the 2 spot with soriano probably on the team so maybe barrett is a better option batting 7 or 8
Very true Ed….or as my shrink would say, “just enjoy the ride” :)
It’s cool man. I actually didn’t even realize you were talking about the All-Star game, which was my bad. Your post makes a lot more sense to me now given that context. Unfortunately, in the All-Star game, it really doesn’t matter who starts, they will all get subbed out by the 4th or 5th inning anyway. The game will likely be decided by the reserves.
I think it’s definitely make or break for the Phillies. The way the Mets have been playing, if they sweep the Phillies then they’re going to be in deep. The Mets could run away with the division with a good showing against the Phillies in this series.
A sweep over the Phils would be huge. 2 out 3 very solid and says something. As long as we do not go in there and get swept things will be good for this team.
Your shrink actually gets paid to recite cliches?…What a job!
Man, it feels like we haven’t played baseball in a month. I was full-on jonesing for a ballgame last nite. Amazing what an off day can do to fans when the team is hot!!!!
Just so everyone knows, to give myself a quick fix to get through the nite, I played NYM vs PHI last nite on MLB2006 for xbox360 and we won :)
I just saw something on the elevator in my building (we have these TV’s which show news blurbs from Captivate Network).
Anyway, apparently, the agreement to award home field advantage in the WS to the league which wins the ASG has not been renewed yet for this season.
I found this interesting given some of the comments here the past couple of days.
To continue to beat the drums I started late yesterday on another thread, the Blue Jays have stolen “You Gotta Believe” and are using it as a banner on their website.
This is appalling.
Paladin and I have sent emails (you can provide feedback on their site by going to Help/contact us at the bottom of the screen, then clicking other on the next screen) to ask why they would steal a slogan so associated with the Mets.
I await their response with baited breath.
Yeah, maybe I’m annoyed over nothing, but seriously, if you were to ask a baseball fan in Butte Montana - what pops into your head when you hear “you gotta belive”, the person is going to say Tug and the Mets.
Credit to “Metstradamus” for raising this issue a few weeks back on his site.
Phillie Fans on beerleaguer.com are basically conceding the season:
WE WILL NEVER CATCH THE METS THIS SEASON!!! Our best hope is wild card, but the current Phillies team just doesn’t have what it takes, too many holes. Some holes can be compensated for, but this team simply has too many!
Same old Phillies. Steaky hitters, bad starting pitching. 85 wins.
Arizona and other above-.500 teams in the NL are our direct competitors for a playoff spot.
So sad ;)
Random Trivia
Who did the Astro’s receive from the Phillies in exchange for Curt Shilling in 1992?
Jasom Grimsley!
Holy smoke!
That is rough. There are a lot of bad trades out there that are as bad if not worse than the Mets ill-fated trade of a couple years ago.
A quick update on a point Ed in Westchester made yesterday regarding the Blue Jays usage of “You Gotta Believe” as their new slogan for this season. I emailed the organization, informing them that this particular slogan was created by Tug, and used throughout the entire 1973 season by the Mets.
The following is a response I just received from their Guest Relations Assistant, Kathy Dolenc:
On behalf of the Toronto Blue Jays, thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear that you dislike the new Toronto Blue Jay advertising slogan. I will forward your feedback over to the marketing department for their review.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ new multi-media advertising campaign shows the players unable to stop themselves from utilizing their natural skills and competitive nature in everyday situations. With this campaign, the Blue Jays wanted to brand our cornerstone players as great athletes while still humanizing them as regular people our fans can readily identify with. However, we realize there may be fans suh as yourself who may not agree with these ads.
Thank you for your comments and suggestion and if you have any other comments, questions, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me as fan feedback is always valued.
Is it just me, or is this person WAAAAY to serious about her job? LMAO! I swear I almost fell off my seat when I read this. I mean really, some dope of a fan contacts your organization about some silly slogan, and you actually take that much time and effort breaking down to me the reasons why the Blue Jays felt that this was the right slogan for them?!? Oh, and I’m sure the marketing department will be THRILLED to see that you passed this along to them as well. Yeah, that forwarded email won’t end up in the trash!
Look, it is a bit of an insult to not just the Mets organization, but the memory of that magical season and what Tug meant to that club. But to go to such great lengths in order to try and rationalize with some guy who just roots for another team is very funny to me!
Here, this one is my favorite: (Toronto Blue Jays) players unable to stop themselves from utilizing their natural skills.
Wow! They just can’t help themselves! It’s like they’re the Incredible Hulks of Major League Baseball, and as soon as they step onto that diamond, they just rampage all over the opposition with such brute force because… well, they just can’t stop themselves.
LOL!!!! Oh man. FEAR the juggernaut that is the Toronto Bluejays!
Oh, too funny. I have to remember to write back to Ms. Dolenc and thank her for the good laugh. I needed that. It’s been a long day.
Oh yeah, I also love the way she completely ignored the fact that they ripped it off from the Mets. No mention of it at all. LOL! Good stuff.
Paladin
That was unbelieveable.
She just did not get it.
It is not that you did not like the slogan, you do, just only when THE METS FOR WHOM IT WAS COINED use it.
People are so clueless.
Ed,
I know. I’m not even going to write back. It’s really a waste of time. I was just curious as to what the response would be (if any at all), and boy was I floored! LOL! Seriously, I’m actually laughing out loud!
Eh. Let em have it, cause they aint goin no where. Actually, I’d be surprised if they even manage to reach the playoffs with all that competition in the American League.
I saw this on an old Adam Rubin blog, i found through some other mets blog, sorry i dont remember which.
That’s a slightly different take on the whole thing, first time I’ve read that the 10-minute comment was in reference to one specific mechanical issue in VZ’s delivery. I think he did get sold up the river on that one.
I’ve got tickets to the game tonight so I’ll deliver something of a report when I get back. If we lose, I’ll swear to never ever jinx the Mets again.
Just…offensive. Canadians are kind of behind on the baseball common knowledge though.
I will be blogging about Peterson later on tonight. I’m going to be joining the Mets soon to cheer on my friends