Friday, June 15, 2007
Friday Night GameNotes, Part 1
Since I made a point in my earlier post to put such an emphasis on the 1st inning, I thought it was fair to follow-up now that it's over.
Clemens: 22 pitches, 2 hits, 0 R, 1 K
The Mets blew a great opportunity there . . . 1st and 2nd no outs, after 2 solid base hits by Reyes and Beltran, and they didn't do anything with it except make Clemens extend his pitch count.
Since I made a point in my earlier post to put such an emphasis on the 1st inning, I thought it was fair to follow-up now that it's over.
Clemens: 22 pitches, 2 hits, 0 R, 1 K
The Mets blew a great opportunity there . . . 1st and 2nd no outs, after 2 solid base hits by Reyes and Beltran, and they didn't do anything with it except make Clemens extend his pitch count.
Blood on the Tracks or Slow Train Coming
The New York media has been riding the easy storyline train all day today, in preparation of the second installment of the Subway Series. The Yanks are red-hot. The Mets are ice-cold. How are the Mets possibly going to stop this Yankee train? Etc. Etc. Etc.
Maybe I'm being too stubborn in shedding some of my anti-Yankee perspective that built up steadily over the course of the first two months of the season, but I think the Mets are going to have a good weekend in the Bronx. I'll even go so far to say I think they're going to grab 2 out of 3. I hope I'm wrong.
Tonight's pitching match-up should work in their favor. I think Clemens is primed to be hit around a bit.
The 1st inning is key to me; if Clemens can pitch through the top of the 1st with ease, I think it's a good sign. But I'm expecting the Mets to tack at least a run or two on the board in the opening frame. I also don't expect him to have as many strikouts as he did against Pittsburgh. We're about 10 minutes away from seeing if my hunch is correct.
I admit the law of averages has as much to do with my reasoning as anything. The Yanks are due to lose. The Mets are due to win. Simple logic fit for dummies.
If the Yanks are able to pull out tonight's game, it puts an enormous amount of pressure on Glavine (not that he isn't used to it) tomorrow, as he goes against Tyler Clippard: another game in which the pitching match-up favors the team from Queens.
To this point, I've been staving off any harsh reaction to the Mets 2-10 June; a bad weekend here will start changing my mind. I think it's a great spot for them to respond and start playing the kind of baseball that made them one of the best teams in baseball in April & May.
Already the outlook has brightened for the Mets, as Johnny Damon has been taken out of the starting line-up due to an "abdominal strain." It never ends with this guy . . . Losing Damon for any lengthy period of time would be a major blow to the Yankees. He's really found his niche being the DH in the lead-off spot, and has been a key contributor, among many, in the Yankees' recent resurgence.
Should be a great weekend of baseball, and I will try and check into the blog as time permits.
As David Pinto says on Baseball Musings, "Enjoy!"
The New York media has been riding the easy storyline train all day today, in preparation of the second installment of the Subway Series. The Yanks are red-hot. The Mets are ice-cold. How are the Mets possibly going to stop this Yankee train? Etc. Etc. Etc.
Maybe I'm being too stubborn in shedding some of my anti-Yankee perspective that built up steadily over the course of the first two months of the season, but I think the Mets are going to have a good weekend in the Bronx. I'll even go so far to say I think they're going to grab 2 out of 3. I hope I'm wrong.
Tonight's pitching match-up should work in their favor. I think Clemens is primed to be hit around a bit.
The 1st inning is key to me; if Clemens can pitch through the top of the 1st with ease, I think it's a good sign. But I'm expecting the Mets to tack at least a run or two on the board in the opening frame. I also don't expect him to have as many strikouts as he did against Pittsburgh. We're about 10 minutes away from seeing if my hunch is correct.
I admit the law of averages has as much to do with my reasoning as anything. The Yanks are due to lose. The Mets are due to win. Simple logic fit for dummies.
If the Yanks are able to pull out tonight's game, it puts an enormous amount of pressure on Glavine (not that he isn't used to it) tomorrow, as he goes against Tyler Clippard: another game in which the pitching match-up favors the team from Queens.
To this point, I've been staving off any harsh reaction to the Mets 2-10 June; a bad weekend here will start changing my mind. I think it's a great spot for them to respond and start playing the kind of baseball that made them one of the best teams in baseball in April & May.
Already the outlook has brightened for the Mets, as Johnny Damon has been taken out of the starting line-up due to an "abdominal strain." It never ends with this guy . . . Losing Damon for any lengthy period of time would be a major blow to the Yankees. He's really found his niche being the DH in the lead-off spot, and has been a key contributor, among many, in the Yankees' recent resurgence.
Should be a great weekend of baseball, and I will try and check into the blog as time permits.
As David Pinto says on Baseball Musings, "Enjoy!"
