Single-A and below: Brooklyn won though starter Nicholas Waechter lasted only 2.2 innings. He was pulled in the third after Oneonta got its fourth single in the inning. Replacement Steven Cheney got the Cyclones out of the jam, striking out Cory Middleton. In his remaining three innings of work, Cheney struck out five more batters while giving up only three hits and no runs. William Morgan pitched the final two innings. He hasn't given up a run since July 13. His ERA now stands at 0.82. That's a great ERA, even in short-season Class-A.
In a notch above Brooklyn in St. Lucie, the Florida boys beat up on Palm Beach 10-3. Jonathon Niese won his tenth, limiting the Cardinals to a run and five hits in seven innings. This is Niese's second straight strong outing.
Savannah lost, Kingsport won, and the GCL Mets didn't play.
Double-A: The B-Mets mimicked the Big Club, routing Trenton 14-2. Six Mets got at least two hits with both Miguel Negron and Mike Carp getting three and second baseman Mark Kiger, who's old to be playing in Double-A (he's 27), homering twice.
Robert Parnell pitched one of his better games. In six innings he gave up only four hits and a run while striking out eight.
Triple-A: Mike Pelfrey might want to buy a rabbit's foot. He hasn't had much luck this season. In seven innings against Sacramento he gave up nine hits but only two runs, yet he lost, 2-1. He now has a losing record this season in both the majors and the minors.
Sacramento scored both runs in the first when seven batters stepped to the plate. A walk mixed within three singles produced both runs. The lone Zephyr run came in the sixth on Fernando Tatis' 14th homer.
Majors: Though he gave up eight hits and three runs in five innings, Brian Lawrence won his first game as a Met. But Lawrence's victory wasn't the big news. The Mets hitters battered the Brewers pitchers. Led by David Wright's four hits, the Mets collected 18 hits, knocking in 12 runs. Lastings Milledge and Damon Easley each added three hits. One of Easley's was an inside-the-park home run that scored Moises Alou.
With Alou on second base, Easley drove the ball to deep right-center. The race was on, Easley's 37-year-old legs hurrying behind Alou's 41 year-old-legs as two of the Mets' senior citizens rushed around the bases. Rounding third, Easley was wearing down. “I’m hoping for somebody to push me,” the Times quoted him as saying. Easley just managed to beat the throw to home plate. Afterward, the Times quoted him as saying “My legs were done after that for the rest of the game.”
Only one Met starter other than Lawrence was unable to get a hit. New second baseman Luis Castillo couldn't buy one. He went 0-6, flying out twice, popping out three times, and grounding out once. Castillo is now 1-11 as a Met. The man he replaced, Ruben Gotay, lined out in one pinch-hit at-bat.
Showing posts with label Waechter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waechter. Show all posts
Friday, August 3, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Pitching fluctuates across Mets organization
Yesterday, the Mets organization benefited from two sterling pitching performances, endured an abysmal one, and observed a starter with an 0-7 record fail to win again.
Orlando Hernandez pitched the best game: seven innings, three hits, one run, one walk, eight strikeouts.
Mike Pelfrey again failed to win with the Big Club. In six innings he gave up eight hits and three runs, all the runs scoring in the third inning. At least this time he didn't lose and only walked one batter. However, his ERA still's high: 5.92.
Speaking of high ERA's, Guillermo Mota's is 5.40 and Joe Smith's was 3.03, yet Mota remains on the New York roster while Smith's down in Triple-A.
Jason Vargas reaffirmed my belief that he should be sent down to Double-A. In 3.1 innings he got hit hard, giving up 10 hits and four runs to up his ERA to 5.59. It amazes me that he has a winning record (7-6). On Tuesday, another Zephyr pitched well. Adam Bostick pitched five innings of one hit, no run, one walk ball. In his last 12.2 innings he's yielded just two runs.
Nicholas Waechter did what so few New York Mets pitchers have done this season: shown the consistent ability to pitch well. He pitched Brooklyn to a 2-1 victory. In six innings he limited Vermont to four hits and a run. Twenty one year old righty William Morgan pitched the final two innings, giving up no runs, no hits, and no walks, to lower his ERA to 0.90.
In Kingsport 2007 second round draft choice Brant Rustich continues to pitch well. In 8.1 innings he hasn't given up a run, earned or unearned, while striking out nine.
And the disaster of the day occurred in Binghamton. Ahead 7-1 entering the ninth, two Mets' relievers gave up 10 runs to prevent 23 year old Jose Sanchez from achieving his fourth win. Sanchez pitched well enough. In 6.2 innings he held Bowie to seven hits and a run. But then ex-big leaguer Lino Urdaneta entered the game. Against him, in just 1.1 innings Bowie amassed five runs on seven hits and a walk. So Carlos Muniz replaced him. Muniz has been pitching well this season for the B-Mets, but not yesterday.
He faced nine batters in the ninth: double, double, error, single, single, wild pitch, strikeout, error, double. In 0.1 innings he gave up five runs on five hits as his won-lost record dropped below .500. Despite the bombing, Muniz's ERA rose to only 2.50.
There was a positive in the B-Met disaster. Left fielder Jamar Hill went four for four, scoring twice, driving in two runs, and hitting a homer. At 24 Hill's a bit old to be playing in Double-A; however, his .340 average makes it easy to overlook his age.
Last year at St. Lucie Hill hit .258. The Mets selected Hill in the 48th round of the 2001 MLB Player Draft.
Trade of the Day
Two ex-Mets swapped teams. Saturday the Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent infielder Ty Wigginton to the Houston Astros for relief pitcher Dan Wheeler. Wigginton played three seasons for the Mets from 2002-2004, hitting .285; Wheeler played two from 2003-2004, leaving with a 4.29 ERA.
Orlando Hernandez pitched the best game: seven innings, three hits, one run, one walk, eight strikeouts.
Mike Pelfrey again failed to win with the Big Club. In six innings he gave up eight hits and three runs, all the runs scoring in the third inning. At least this time he didn't lose and only walked one batter. However, his ERA still's high: 5.92.
Speaking of high ERA's, Guillermo Mota's is 5.40 and Joe Smith's was 3.03, yet Mota remains on the New York roster while Smith's down in Triple-A.
Jason Vargas reaffirmed my belief that he should be sent down to Double-A. In 3.1 innings he got hit hard, giving up 10 hits and four runs to up his ERA to 5.59. It amazes me that he has a winning record (7-6). On Tuesday, another Zephyr pitched well. Adam Bostick pitched five innings of one hit, no run, one walk ball. In his last 12.2 innings he's yielded just two runs.
Nicholas Waechter did what so few New York Mets pitchers have done this season: shown the consistent ability to pitch well. He pitched Brooklyn to a 2-1 victory. In six innings he limited Vermont to four hits and a run. Twenty one year old righty William Morgan pitched the final two innings, giving up no runs, no hits, and no walks, to lower his ERA to 0.90.
In Kingsport 2007 second round draft choice Brant Rustich continues to pitch well. In 8.1 innings he hasn't given up a run, earned or unearned, while striking out nine.
And the disaster of the day occurred in Binghamton. Ahead 7-1 entering the ninth, two Mets' relievers gave up 10 runs to prevent 23 year old Jose Sanchez from achieving his fourth win. Sanchez pitched well enough. In 6.2 innings he held Bowie to seven hits and a run. But then ex-big leaguer Lino Urdaneta entered the game. Against him, in just 1.1 innings Bowie amassed five runs on seven hits and a walk. So Carlos Muniz replaced him. Muniz has been pitching well this season for the B-Mets, but not yesterday.
He faced nine batters in the ninth: double, double, error, single, single, wild pitch, strikeout, error, double. In 0.1 innings he gave up five runs on five hits as his won-lost record dropped below .500. Despite the bombing, Muniz's ERA rose to only 2.50.
There was a positive in the B-Met disaster. Left fielder Jamar Hill went four for four, scoring twice, driving in two runs, and hitting a homer. At 24 Hill's a bit old to be playing in Double-A; however, his .340 average makes it easy to overlook his age.
Last year at St. Lucie Hill hit .258. The Mets selected Hill in the 48th round of the 2001 MLB Player Draft.
Trade of the Day
Two ex-Mets swapped teams. Saturday the Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent infielder Ty Wigginton to the Houston Astros for relief pitcher Dan Wheeler. Wigginton played three seasons for the Mets from 2002-2004, hitting .285; Wheeler played two from 2003-2004, leaving with a 4.29 ERA.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Newcombe honored, Zephyrs win despite Vargas' performance
In a pre-game ceremony at Brooklyn's KeySpan Park, the Cyclones honored former Brooklyn Dodgers' Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young winner Don Newcombe. No other pitcher has won those three awards.
Big Don threw out the first pitch, and then the Cyclones retired his number, 36. The team further honored Newcombe by winning their game, 7-3, behind Nicholas Waechter's three-hit, no run pitching over five innings. Waechter struck out seven. He now has 33 K's in 33 innings. Only Nicholas Carr has more, 35, in just 29.1 innings.
The GCL Mets have a pitcher worth mentioning. Gavin Dlouhy is a 19 year old Australian with a last name I'm unsure how to pronounce, but in his first pro season with the GCL Mets he's shown he can pitch. In the team's Sunday game, Dlouhy gave up three hits, no runs, walked none and struck out six in four innings, lowering his ERA to 1.93. Dlouhy, a righty, has been particularly effective at home and against lefties. At home his ERA is 0.60; against lefties his ERA's 1.29. Dlouhy is one of several Australians whom the Mets have signed.
Yesterday, Jason Vargas got hit hard. In five innings he gave up nine hits and five runs. In three of his last four games he's given up five, seven and eight runs in 12.1 innings. His latest poor performance raised his ERA to 5.40. That's much higher than two of his New Orlean Zephyr teammates, Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey.
On Monday Humber had a decent outing marred only by the two homers he gave up. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have given up a run during five innings in which he struck out six. His ERA's now 4.21. He's only given up more than three runs in one of the ten games he's started this season.
However, that's not as good as fellow Zephyr Mike Pelfrey's performance. In nine starts this year Pelfrey hasn't given up more than four runs in any game. The righty's ERA is 3.88. That's much better than his ERA for the nine games he's pitched for the New York Mets: 6.12. That's a prime reason why he's 0-7 in the Majors.
Surprisingly, like Dlouhy, Pelfrey's Zephyr ERA against lefties is better than it is against righties. Against lefties it's 2.11; against righties it's 5.27. You'd think he and Dlouhy were throwing screwballs.
Big Don threw out the first pitch, and then the Cyclones retired his number, 36. The team further honored Newcombe by winning their game, 7-3, behind Nicholas Waechter's three-hit, no run pitching over five innings. Waechter struck out seven. He now has 33 K's in 33 innings. Only Nicholas Carr has more, 35, in just 29.1 innings.
The GCL Mets have a pitcher worth mentioning. Gavin Dlouhy is a 19 year old Australian with a last name I'm unsure how to pronounce, but in his first pro season with the GCL Mets he's shown he can pitch. In the team's Sunday game, Dlouhy gave up three hits, no runs, walked none and struck out six in four innings, lowering his ERA to 1.93. Dlouhy, a righty, has been particularly effective at home and against lefties. At home his ERA is 0.60; against lefties his ERA's 1.29. Dlouhy is one of several Australians whom the Mets have signed.
Yesterday, Jason Vargas got hit hard. In five innings he gave up nine hits and five runs. In three of his last four games he's given up five, seven and eight runs in 12.1 innings. His latest poor performance raised his ERA to 5.40. That's much higher than two of his New Orlean Zephyr teammates, Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey.
On Monday Humber had a decent outing marred only by the two homers he gave up. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have given up a run during five innings in which he struck out six. His ERA's now 4.21. He's only given up more than three runs in one of the ten games he's started this season.
However, that's not as good as fellow Zephyr Mike Pelfrey's performance. In nine starts this year Pelfrey hasn't given up more than four runs in any game. The righty's ERA is 3.88. That's much better than his ERA for the nine games he's pitched for the New York Mets: 6.12. That's a prime reason why he's 0-7 in the Majors.
Surprisingly, like Dlouhy, Pelfrey's Zephyr ERA against lefties is better than it is against righties. Against lefties it's 2.11; against righties it's 5.27. You'd think he and Dlouhy were throwing screwballs.
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