SB Nation - Nelson Figueroa

Ross Detwiler Claims First MLB Win, 2-1 Over The Lowly New York Mets.

Ed Chigliak — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:55:33 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

2 months ago: Washington Nationals' starter Ross Detwiler pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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• Ross Detwiler's First MLB Win...The Mets' SNY announce team of Gary Cohen, former Nationals' announcer and Mets' pitcher Ron Darling and Seinfeld star Keith Hernandez criticized Ross Detwiler at one point, claiming that he should still be pitching in the minors as raw as he was, and on any team other than the Mets or Nationals he probably would be, but Ross Detwiler, (the 6th overall pick and the 3rd pitcher taken in the '07 Draft behind #1 overall David Price and left-hander Daniel Moskos, who went 4th overall to the Pirates), was able to beat the Mets tonight, so...Enjoy the rebuild Citi Field season ticket holders!!!

Detwiler goes 6.0 IP and allows just 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 ER as he earns his first MLB W...Here's How It Happened...

• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Are Still Watching...

• Check Out The SB Nation's New York Mets Blog: Amazin' Avenue GameThread.

• "Revenge of the softball girls" - by Doghouse.

FULL GAME REPORT AFTER THE JUMP...

• A productive groundout by Ian Desmond moves Justin Maxwell from second to third after a leadoff hit off NY Mets' right-hander Nelson Figueroa in the first inning tonight, and Ryan Zimmerman follows with an RBI flyout to short right that scores Maxwell on a close play at home, and that’s all the Nationals need for Washington’s first run...oh, that and an error on a backhand attempt by David "Gold Glove" Wright who turns an infield hit into a runner on second to start the game and Ryan Zimmerman’s 102nd RBI.

• After two quick frames, Ross Detwiler gives up a two-out walk to Angel Pagan. A hard-hit grounder by Luis Castilla gets by third when Ryan Zimmerman tries a Zimmermanesque sidestep stab. David Wright steps in with two and two out...Ross Detwiler gets D. Wright looking to end the Mets’ first threat...Still 0-0 after four, Detwiler gives up a leadoff single to Anderson Hernandez in the Mets' fifth, and Nelson Figueroa reaches first safely on a sac attempt when Josh Bard throws late to second, so Angel Pagan’s bunt, which follows Figueroa's, moves two runners into scoring postition with one down. Detwiler gets a line drive out to Ian Desmond at short from Luis Castillo and gets a groundout to short from David Wright. 5.0 scoreless for Detwiler in what is probably his last start of ‘09.

• The Mets get on the board in the sixth. Detwiler gives up a single to center by Carlos Beltran, who takes second on a wild pitch and scores one out later when Fernando Tatis singles to right. 1-1 ballgame. Another wild pitch puts two runners in scoring position with Nelson Figueroa at bat, but Detwiler gets the opposing pitcher swinging to end the top of the frame.

• Mike Morse gives DC back their lead!! Solo shot to right to start the Nationals’ sixth, 2-1 DC. 3 HR’s in 3-straight games for Morse who’s now matched his career total coming into the season...Justin Maxwell singles to start the Nationals’ seventh, and moves to second on a sac bunt by Desmond, but then Zimmerman grounds to short, and J-Max runs anyway and gets thrown out at third...Dunn flies out, DC will have to settle for a one-run lead.

• Jason Bergmann walks the first batter he faces in the seventh but gets out of the frame with the lead when he K’s Jeff Francoeur, throwing a high heater outside by Frenchy with two on and two out. Bergmann comes back in the eighth and retires the side in order, to put the Nationals three outs away from their 53rd win and Ross Detwiler’s first.

• MacDougal Will Do It...After allowing 4 hits and 5 runs in his last two outings, Mike MacDougal...for the first time in 6 trips to the hill...was able to pitch a scoreless frame as he converted the 16th of 17 save opportunities this season and closed out Ross Detwiler's first Major League win...

Nationals win, 2-1 final.

For The Completists, Full Game Report Starts....NOW!!!

New York Mets At Washington Nationals. Game 156 Of 162.

GAME REPORT:

Angel Pagan lines a little too hard to right where Mike Morse takes an awkard leap to catch the first out. Luis Castillo flies weakly to Morse. David Wright lines over first for a two-out double off DC lefty Ross Detwiler. Ian Desmond fields and fires to first to get Carlos Beltran and end the top of the first...Nelson Figueroa gives up a leadoff hit to Justin Maxwell on a high chopper to third that David Wright can’t backhand. Ian Desmond’s groundout to second moves J-Max to third. Ryan Zimmerman flies to short right, Maxwell tags up and breaks for home as Jeff Francoeur throws in and up the line, 1-0 as Maxwell avoids the tag. Adam Dunn K’s swinging to end the first.

Mike Morse hustles back and catches the first out of the second at the wall off Jeff Francoeur’s bat. Ian Desmond throws out Fernado Tatis. Omir Santos flies out just left of center to Justin Maxwell...Josh Willingham hangs one up in the air for Carlos Beltran to catch. Mike Morse rips one to the hole at short, and Anderson Hernandez just knocks it down. Josh Bard pops up the first pitch he sees. Alberto Gonzalez grounds into a force to end the DC second.

Anderson Hernandez grounds out to Ian Desmond. Nelson Figueroa grounds out to third. Ross Detwiler walks Angel Pagan with two down. Luis Castillo gets knocked down but not hit by a fastball inside and ends up singling by Ryan Zimmerman at third when he tries to snatch it instead of getting in front of it. First and third for Wright. Detwiler hits the inside corner with a two-strike fastball for a backwards K...Detwiler gets called out on strikes. Justin Maxwell flies out to the wall in right center. Ian Desmond rrrips a two-out triple off the out-of-town scoreboard. Ryan Zimmerman walks with two down. Adam Dunn grounds to Luis Castillo at second to end the third.

Ian Desmond throws out Carlos Beltran. Jeff Francoeur grounds out to Dunn at first. Fernando Tatis’ double falls in fair down the line in right. Omir Santos flies to center to end the Mets’ fourth...Josh Willingham chases a slider into the left-hand batter’s box. Mike Morse grounds sharply to short, Anderson Hernandez gets there but throws it by first. Morse to second. Josh Bard grounds out to first to advance Morse to third. Alberto Gonzalez gets the intentionals to set Detwiler up with two on and two out. Detwiler K’s to end the fourth.

Anderson "Elvis" Hernandez singles to center, Justin Maxwell charges in to field it on the curly-W in the grass. Figueroa drops a bunt in front of home, Bard throws to second too late, and Desmond holds it at second while Figueroa slowly runs to first. Angel Pagan bunts both runners into scoring position. Luis Castillo lines out to short. David Wright grounds out to short to end the fifth...Justin Maxwell pops out to right. Ian Desmond drops a bunt toward third, Wright barehands and throws behind the runner and past Tatis behind first. Desmond takes second. Ryan Zimmerman gets a two-strike slider inside that’s called strike three. Adam Dunn gets the intentionals. Josh WIllingham grounds into a force at second to end the fifth.

Carlos Beltran singles to center to start the sixth. Jeff Francoeur’s up, Detwiler throws a fastball by home, Beltran to second. Francoeur K’s chasing a high two-strike fastball outside. Fernando Tatis lines to center, Beltran scores and it’s tied at 1-1. Omir Santos flies out to center. Anderson Hernandez grounds to second and reaches safely when Alberto Gonzalez’s throw is late. Another wild pitch moves both runners up. Nelson Figueroa K’s swinging to end the frame...Mike Morse goes the other way with a high fly ball to right and GONE!!!! HR for Morse, 2-1 DC!! Josh Bard pops out. Alberto Gonzalez flies out to left. Jorge Padilla lines out to end the sixth.

Jason Bergmann tries to hold the lead for Detwiler. Leadoff walk to Angel Pagan is not a good start. Luis Castilla’s sac bunt moves Pagan to second. David Wright grounds out to Desmond at short for the second out. Carlos Beltran gets two balls and then gets the intentionals. Jeff Francoeur K’s chasing a curve in the dirt!!! Called strike three!!!!...Justin Maxwell vs Sean Green. J-Max shoots a low-liner to right. Ian Desmond bunts J-Max over. Ryan Zimmerman grounds to short, Maxwell breaks for third and gets thrown out. Figueroa out for Pedro Feliciano. Adam Dunn flies out to left to end the seventh.

Fernando Tatis flies to right and Mike Morse has to make a basket catch to avoid Justin Maxwell as he cuts in front of the right fielder. Jason Bergmann gets a line-drive out to center from Omir Santos. Daniel Murphy pops out to third to end the Mets’ eighth...Bobby Parnell vs Willingham to start the Nationals’ eighth. Elijah Dukes in on to run. Mike Morse K’s swinging. Josh Bard grounds into an inning ending DP...Wait for it...

Mike MacDougal vs Cory Sullivan. Sullivan grounds to first, ONE!! Angel Pagan grounds to Desmond, TWO! Luis Castillo grounds to short, Desmond to first, Ballgame!!! Nationals win, 2-1 final. Ross Detwiler gets his first career W. Congrats, Mr. Detwiler!!!!

Nationals now 53-103.

Swing And Miss: Cubs 5, Mets 3

Eric Simon — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:10:23 -0000

.368 Cory Sullivan's on-base percentage

66 Percentage of Rich Harden's outs recorded via strikeout

26 Mets games remaining in 2009

23 Percentage of swinging strikes induced by Rich Harden

18 Nelson Figueroa strikeouts in last two starts (13 innings)

17 Nelson Figueroa strikeouts in previous nine appearances (25 innings)

15 Percentage of swinging strikes induced by Nelson Figueroa

10 Mets left on base

9 Combined strikeouts by Mets' first three hitters

4 Hits by Josh Thole in his first nine big league at-bats

Haiku by Howard Megdal

Sullivan's new show
is home runs; Lee's pair shows us
Classic never dies

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Bleed Cubbie Blue Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Cory Sullivan, +16.9% WPA, Jeremy Reed, +7.1% WPA
Big losers: Nelson Figueroa, -19.8% WPA, Daniel Murphy, -15.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Pagan RBI single in seventh, +12.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Lee two-run homerun in fifth, -25.2% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -22.9% WPA
Total batter WPA: -27.1% WPA
GWRBI!: Derrek Lee

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by KeithsMoustache; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	KeithsMoustache	54
2	blueandorange4life	41
3	metsguy234	29
4	fxcarden	28
5	Jadden Hopkins	27
6	MetsFan4Decades	26
7	Syler	21
8	James Kannengieser	8
9	Kevin H	7
10	clip	4

Bullpen Shines, But Too Late; Cubs' Offense MIA In 4-1 Loss To Mets

Al — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:37:34 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Not a good day for this guy.

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The good news for the Cubs today is that their much-maligned bullpen threw 5.2 innings of one-hit, no-walk, five-strikeout ball.

The bad news is all of that came after Carlos Zambrano -- who had "mechanical" problems again according to Lou in his postgame news conference -- gave up eleven Mets hits while recording only ten outs with 75 pitches. Some of the hits were ground balls that just found holes, but that was enough for a rather dull 4-1 loss to the Mets on one of the only afternoons all summer when there were no clouds in the sky, despite the game-time temperature being reported at an April-like 57 degrees. (The upper deck facing the wind wasn't nearly full at game time and emptied out early.)

Z also had velocity problems as he only threw a handful of pitches over 90 MPH as measured by the Wrigley Field pitch speed indicator. Now, that may not be 100% accurate, although I have found it to be pretty close in the several years since it was installed at the top of the upper deck. But if he's got both mechanical trouble and he's throwing only 89 MPH fastballs, is that an indicator that he's still hurt?

The Cubs had plenty of chances to score runs today, too; they had a run within the first four batters of the game and could have broken the game open against Nelson Figueroa. Now think about that name again -- Nelson Figueroa, a 35-year-old journeyman who came into the game with a 5.40 ERA and zero career wins vs. the Cubs. And he struck out nine in the first four innings. What's up with that?

The one occasion on which the Cubs could have come back into the game was with two out in the fifth inning, after a Ryan Theriot single and Milton Bradley being hit by a pitch. Derrek Lee ran the count to 3-0 and it appeared Figueroa was rattled. Instead of taking 3-0 and maybe getting on base, or even taking a 3-1 strike, forcing Figueroa to throw more pitches, Lee flied to right to end the inning. There were quite a number of instances of players swinging at first pitches, including Aaron Miles' latest awful pinch-hit AB (a lazy fly to left on the first pitch), and several of Geovany Soto's AB. Lou also said that he's going to give Koyie Hill the bulk of the playing time the rest of the way. That's not to say that Hill is a great player -- he's not -- but right now he's hitting more consistently than Soto and he seems to have the confidence of the pitching staff. Soto can get in shape over the winter and try to win his job back next spring.

What more can be said? The hanging-on-by-a-thread playoff hopes still hang, as with 34 games remaining the deficit in the wild-card race is six games (at the time I wrote this; if the Rockies hold on to their lead on the Giants, it would be 6.5 games). There's still time, but it is growing short. A winning streak comprising at least the rest of this homestand would be helpful; at the very least it would include a win over the White Sox, something that's always pleasant. The division title is pretty much a foregone conclusion to the Cardinals, who are now 10 games ahead and have a magic number to clinch of 23.

Just beat the Astros tomorrow and go from there.

At Last, The Truth About Alfonso Soriano: Cubs vs. Mets Preview, Sunday 8/30, 1:20 CT

Al — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:00:12 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Write your own caption.

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The information about Alfonso Soriano buried in one paragraph of this Sun-Times article today absolutely floored me:

Soriano injured the knee in April when he hit the outfield wall going after a ball. He has had treatment for months without complaining, but his mobility defensively and running have become increasingly affected. He has gone through some of the longest hitting slumps of his career -- including going without a home run from July 29 to Friday, when he hit a game-winning, three-run homer in the eighth inning.

He hurt his knee in April?? And they didn't do anything about it then? Those of us who have been saying since at least mid-May that Soriano didn't seem to be running well either in the outfield or on the bases were, apparently, correct. Why he didn't go on the DL for a couple of weeks in May -- when he was slumping and the team wasn't playing well -- and fix this problem, so he could be at full strength now, is absolutely mystifying.

And further:

Soriano admitted he hasn't been able to put weight on his left knee, "but I don't want to just watch games -- I want to play," he said Friday. "It's August. We only have one month left [in the regular season]."

I suppose you have to give credit to a guy who wants to get out there and help his team. But playing on a bad knee isn't really helpful, as we have seen by Soriano's play the last three months (with the exception of that three-week hot streak he had in July). If the treatment he can get along with a couple days' rest can get him out there and hitting again (as well as not dropping easy fly balls), great. If not, that's another mistake made by management in 2009, not getting Soriano's problems fixed three months ago.

Anyway, let's sweep this series. No matter what it ultimately means, and no matter how injury-depleted they are, it's always satisfying to beat the Mets.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Carlos Zambrano Cubs	vs.	Nelson Figueroa Mets

7-5	W-L	1-3
3.80	ERA	5.40
105	SO	17
60	BB	8
9	HR	4
vs. NY	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Carlos Zambrano	7-5	28	21	0	0	0	0	128.0	117	60	54	9	60	105	3.80	1.38

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Nelson Figueroa	1-3	9	3	0	0	0	0	25.0	37	16	15	4	8	17	5.40	1.80

Nelson Figueroa is a New York City native who was originally drafted by the Mets in 1995. He was traded to the Diamondbacks in 1998 in a deal that featured Bernard Gilkey. Then he was involved in the deal that got Curt Schilling to Arizona from the Phillies. This is all to tell you that he's 35 and been around a long time. He is 0-4, 4.40 in nine career appearances (four starts) against the Cubs, the last of those being on April 22, 2008 at Wrigley Field. Aramis Ramirez is 4-for-9 with a double and a HR off Figueroa.

Carlos Zambrano has made eight career starts vs. the Mets and is 4-1, 3.76. He got hit pretty hard by them last September 24 in New York, but a lot of that damage was done by a grand slam from Carlos Delgado, who, along with $90 million worth of his teammates, won't play today. This would be a really good day for Z to step up and be that "ace" the Cubs need him to be.

This is an unusual TV day in this cable/satellite age: broadcast TV! WGN in Chicago, WPIX in New York. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin' Avenue.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Hello, Old Friends: Cubs vs. Mets Preview, Friday 8/28, 1:20 CT

Al — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:00:30 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

This oughta be good: tell the rest of us what Lou and Ted were saying to each other yesterday.

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Let's push controversy aside for a while, shall we, and try to just enjoy a baseball game this afternoon?

The last time the Mets visited Wrigley Field was more than 16 months ago, on April 22, 2008. That isn't that long ago in baseball terms, but of the eight starting Cubs that day, four are no longer with the team and one is on the DL. Five other Cubs who appeared in the game are elsewhere as well. As for the Mets, four of their starting eight from that game won't appear due to injury and three others have departed.

Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam in that game, just to remind you of blasts from the past. It's still his only slam. (That's just about the time we started calling him ONEDEC.)

Two very different teams will take the field at Wrigley this afternoon from that long-ago day in 2008 (the Cubs did face the Mets last September, still almost a year ago, when the Mets were desperately trying to win a playoff spot, which they lost on the last day of the season). The Mets have been decimated by injuries, both to their starting lineup and pitching rotation -- the three Mets probable starters in this series, Pat Misch, Bobby Parnell and Nelson Figueroa, were definitely not the pitchers Jerry Manuel envisioned in his rotation in April.

OK, I suppose I can't resist a couple of links and comments regarding the current Milton Bradley situation. Phil Rogers says the Cubs should just cut him, which would cost north of $20 million and I think is a ridiculous idea, but Rogers also offer some suggestions of other teams' bad contracts that could result in a trade:

The only way to trade Bradley, according to executives with other clubs, is to up your ante to take on someone else's bad contract. You know the names -- the Blue Jays' Vernon Wells, owed $98.5 million over five years; the Giants' Barry Zito, $83 million over four years; the Astros' Carlos Lee, $55.5 million over three years, maybe the Giants' Aaron Rowand, $36 million over three years.

The best of those scenarios involves the Rangers' five-year, $80-million deal with Michael Young, who at 32 is a productive player. He's owed $16 million a year for four more seasons.

In a cost-cutting mode because of ownership problems, Texas might consider a Bradley-for-Young trade. But it wouldn't do it during its ongoing playoff race and it's going to be increasingly awkward for them to try to wade through a hugely problematic trade.

As Rogers says, Texas is in a playoff race and probably wouldn't do it now. So are the Giants with Zito, who has actually pitched very well since the All-Star break. The Vernon Wells deal would be more palatable to the Cubs if it didn't have five years and nearly as much money as Alfonso Soriano's. But I'd do it. Wells is virtually the same age as Bradley (about eight months younger) and, though he's had a couple of tough years since he signed his monster deal, at least he does have proven power numbers from the past, and could play CF, allowing Kosuke Fukudome to move back to RF next season (with Reed Johnson retained to back them both up).

And strangely enough, the best local media words on this situation come from the Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom, who I almost never agree with and who often writes ridiculous bombast. But today he nails it, in a column titled Bradley's response ought to anger those who take on racism seriously:

Racism is serious. If you are concerned or angry enough to put that in the public discussion, then you seemingly should be motivated to explain when and where this happened. How else do you take a step toward keeping it from happening again?

But when Bradley offers only cynicism and sarcasm, he diminishes the severity of the issue. Moreover, he does a disservice to those suffering abuse but who are willing to fight the fight head on.

...

Under no circumstances does anyone deserve to be abused racially. Underachieving baseball player and racial epithets are dots that should never connect.

But Bradley’s history and now his dismissive response to questions following his serious charges invite the suggestion that he’s looking for ways to shield himself from his problems, self-inflicted or otherwise.

One hundred percent correct, Mr. Rosenbloom. Bravo.

Try to enjoy today's game.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Ted Lilly Cubs	vs.	Pat Misch Mets

9-8	W-L	0-1
3.40	ERA	4.09
116	SO	13
27	BB	13
21	HR	1
vs. NY	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ted Lilly	9-8	21	21	0	0	0	0	135.0	123	56	51	21	27	116	3.40	1.11

Pat Misch's stats below are with the Mets only; see the pitcher box for his full-season stats.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Pat Misch	0-1	15	0	0	0	0	1	18.2	18	6	6	1	10	13	2.89	1.50

There's no profile photo of Pat Misch in a Mets cap available (at least not in that size), so you get one of him with his former team, the Giants. The Mets acquired Misch on waivers in July and he's spent the last couple of months shuttling between Buffalo and New York, making 15 relief appearances with the Mets (after four with the Giants). He is a Chicago-area native who graduated from Glenbrook North HS in Northbrook in 1999 and has made three career relief appearances vs. the Cubs, all in 2007. This will be his first start as a Met. Only one current Cub has a hit off him -- Koyie Hill (1-for-2), but that's covering only eight total at-bats from all current Cubs.

Ted Lilly is 2-1, 3.86 in five career appearances (four starts) vs. the Mets. His last two starts against them, one in 2007 and one in 2008, were both wins, the last one in the April 22, 2008 game mentioned above. The current Met who has the most AB against Ted is Gary Sheffield; Sheffield is only 5-for-28 against him.

Cable-only today in Chicago (CSN) and New York (SNY). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin' Avenue.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Still Nothing: Marlins 2, Mets 1

Eric Simon — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:21:55 -0000

We're on our way to Chicago! We had a nice little jaunt through Jersey and Pennsylvania today, stopping first to see District 9, then hitting up a brewpub and outlet shopping, and finally settling just inside Ohio for the night. We'll get up early and hit the Cleveland Zoo (and another brewpub) and hope to reach Chicago late Wednesday evening.

As for this game, I didn't see it though I caught a few innings of it on the road via the Marlins' radio broadcast on XM. Some bullet notes:

Nelson Figueroa pitched pretty well, allowing just four hits and one earned run (plus one unearned run) and struck out two while walking none in five innings. He registered just two swinging strikes in 78 pitches thrown.
Figueroa's counterpart, Sean West, allowed six hits and three walks in six innings but surrendered just one run on a Fernando Tatis RBI single in the fourth.
That was pretty much it for the Mets' offense. They managed just a walk and a hit in three innings against the Marlins' bullpen.
Sean Green allowed three hits and two walks in two innings but didn't allow any runs to score on his watch. BB-Rod walked a batter and struck out two in an inning of work.
Jeff Francoeur picked up two doubles and has the on-base percentage up to .301.
Omir Santos went 1-for-4 and saw his OBP drop to .302. Frenchy is nipping at his heels.

Mike Pelfrey takes on Josh Johnson at 7:10pm Wednesday night.

Haiku by Howard Megdal

First day after Johan
Strong Nelson, gritty Francoeur
And standard errors

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Fish Stripes Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Sean Green, +9.5% WPA, Gary Sheffield, +4.5% WPA
Big losers: Angel Pagan, -14.6% WPA, Daniel Murphy, -13.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Tatis RBI single in fourth, +10.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Gload RBI single in fifth, -13.4% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +12.7% WPA
Total batter WPA: -62.7% WPA
GWRBI!: Ross Gload

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by KeithsMoustache; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	KeithsMoustache	141
2	metsguy234	86
3	firejerrynow	76
4	fxcarden	75
5	MetsKnicksRutgers	58
6	blueandorange4life	54
7	Mex_17	47
8	Michkin	33
9	Kevin H	19
10	David G	14

Tough To Watch: Phillies 6, Mets 2

Eric Simon — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:36:18 -0000

I'm about to pack for our trip to Chicago so tonight's recap is another of the bullet-list variety.

Four starts is probably still too soon to rule on the Bobby Parnell starter experiment. There are still hypotheses to test, theses to write, peer review sessions to attend. Still, it's not looking good right now.
Parnell threw first-pitch strikes to just nine of 25 batters he faced. Not surprising, then, that he allowed five runs on four hits and three walks in five innings. Two of the four hits were Ryan Howard homeruns, so I guess were it not for those things might've turned out much better.
If it wasn't already clear that throwing first-pitch strikes was important, allow Baseball-Reference.com's league splits to elucidate that point:
- Batters after 1-0 count: .278/.395/.459
- Batters after 0-1 count: .233/.276/.357
The good news is that Parnell registered 11 swinging strikes, or 10.7% of his pitches, which is very good for a starter.
The Mets only had seven baserunners all game on six hits and an error. Two of those runners were erased: Pagan was thrown out stealing and Cory Sullivan was doubled off on Anderson Hernandez's liner in the fifth.
Billy Wagner made his second relief appearance since returning from surgery. He struck out two more batters, though his control was a bit spottier than last time.
Yes, it has come to this: a Ken Takahashi sighting.

The Mets head to Florida to begin a three-game series with the Marlins on Tuesday. Nelson Figueroa gets the start against Sean West, 7:10pm start time.

Haiku by Howard Megdal

Howard's two homers
mean little; Johan's elbow
is all that matters

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* The Good Phight Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Gary Sheffield, +5.7% WPA, Daniel Murphy, +4.0% WPA
Big losers: Bobby Parnell, -27.2% WPA, Anderson Hernandez, -9.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Murphy double in seventh, +6.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Howard three-run homerun in first, -18.3% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -22.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: -27.8% WPA
GWRBI!: Ryan Howard

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by fxcarden; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	fxcarden	41
2	blueandorange4life	33
3	David G	33
4	KeithsMoustache	22
5	Syler	12
6	MetsFan4Decades	12
7	Prince	10
8	bones_boy	10
9	Mex_17	9
10	wrightnumber5	7

Final Thoughts On Close-Mindedness

James Kannengieser — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:00:12 -0000

In a response to a response to a response to a post I made last week (isn't the Internet great?), Mike Silva of New York Baseball Digest wrote (excerpted):

The Battle of Dueling Baseball Philosophies

To quote the great Vin Scully, "Statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamp post: for support, not illumination." I need to see a player in order to get the entire package. I like to know what people in the game think of him as a person, in the clubhouse, and if he has a reputation of performing in big spots. Also, how will he handle failure?

WAR is a perfect example of assessing a player in a vacuum. It’s a very dangerous method of evaluation. I spoke to a baseball person on Friday and he told me, to his knowledge, this stuff isn’t even used by teams in arbitration. That should tell you something right there.

My first problem with WAR is crediting a "win to an individual player. All sports are won and lost as a team. You can’t tell me Ryan Church is worth two more wins over Jeff Francoeur, because we just don’t know how games would play out if Church stayed in New York and Francoeur in Atlanta.

Next, WAR cites the "average minor league player" as its benchmark. Who is the typical average minor leaguer? Anderson Hernandez? Nelson Figueroa? Sergio Mitre? Josh Towers? Fernando Martinez? Shelley Duncan? Do you Get the point? Average to you and me can mean all different things. We are probably in the same ballpark, but I value a Nelson Figueroa much more than Josh Towers. I also think the gap between Figueroa and Mike Pelfrey is smaller than, lets say, Josh Towers. The fact that defense, a subjective measure to being with, is weighted also gives me pause. The lack of respect given to the position of first base tells you how flawed the stat really is. Ask the greatest infield ever if John Olerud was overrated at first versus Todd Zeile the following year. What about Keith Hernandez and his impact for the late eighties Mets. Do you think the Yankees are better off with Teixeira’s defense at first? I believe excellent defensive first basemen makes all the players around him better by saving throws and cutting down base hits.

There is nothing wrong with using modern statistics like WAR. A good general manager should have a department that focuses on sabermetrics. To not consider all angles of baseball research is unacceptable in this day and age. I believe the sabermetric crowd deserves a seat at the table, but a very small say in the final decision. None of those numbers account for makeup, character, and fortitude.

In the end I believe this is all great debate. Everyone has a point and a valuable piece of information that helps achieve the ultimate goal: a winning ballclub. It’s almost become like American politics where both sides draw a line firmly in the sand and won’t consider some valid points by the other.

If you read the whole piece, it's a pretty measured response. Regardless, the fictional "stats vs. scouts" debate is a major pet peeve, a divide created by the likes of Jon Heyman and propagated by pieces like this. No one questions the existence of intangibles. It would be silly to do so. However, we have no way of knowing what effect these intangibles have on on-field performance. Too often a player's "awesome leadership" or "grit" is discussed only after a team wins (see Derek Jeter and the entire Phillies team). Intangibles cannot be quantified, so I would rather discuss easily researchable concepts like WAR than waste time debating whether or not David Wright is a leader. Are character and fortitude really more important for winning ballgames than hitting, pitching, and fielding? Silva can cite all of the "anonymous baseball persons" he wants in order to tell us that teams don't use metrics like WAR (are these the same sources that declared "Julio Lugo Will Be a Met" and "Mets will be obtaining Adam LaRoche from Boston"?), but the fact remains that stats like this are very real and here to stay.

The replacement level concept is still misunderstood here, and probably always will be. Explaining advanced statistics to talk radio disciples is like Galileo explaining heliocentricity to the 17th Century Catholic Church. One party has made up their mind about the topic and is unwilling to listen to new ideas. Rather than keep an open mind, listen, and ask relevant questions, these types would rather try to poke holes in everything they hear. It's unfortunate.

Notorious F.I.G.: Mets 9, Cardinals 0

Eric Simon — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:16:00 -0000

Jon Niese started this afternoon's game and, after being staked to an early lead on a David Wright two-run homer in the bottom of the first, left after straining his right hamstring chasing a grounder in the second inning. He was replaced by Nelson Figueroa, who just two days ago turned in one of the worst pitching performances in recent memory, allowing six runs on ten hits in just 1.2 innings. Suffice it to say that things were looking bad early today. Figueroa's first batter was opposing pitcher Kyle Lohse, who was disposed of with little trouble. Figueroa came to the plate in the bottom of the second inning with two runners on and rocked a triple to center, scoring Brian Schneider and Angel Berroa to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.

Figueroa allowed just four hits and struck out five in 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, which is good for the Mets because he might be seeing a bit more action if Niese is going to miss any considerable amount of time. Bobby Parnell replaced Figueroa and tossed three scoreless innings for the "save", allowing just one hit and striking out three.

Wright's homerun was his eighth of the season, which might be more like 14 or 16 were Citi Field's dimensions a tad more forgiving. He went 3-for-4 on the day with a walk and has his on-base percentage up to .420 and his slugging up to .477. Angel Pagan picked up three more hits, including his seventh triple of the season. In the biggest news of the day, Jeff Francoeur went 2-for-3 and drew his first unintentional walk as a Met, which means the counter starts over at 0.

The Mets head for PETCO Park to begin a four-game series with the Padres tomorrow night.

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Viva El Birdos Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: David Wright, +17.4% WPA, Nelson Figueroa, +15.1% WPA
Big losers: Alex Cora, -4.3% WPA, Angel Berroa, -3.6% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Wright two-run homerun in first, +16.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Lugo double in fifth, -4.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +21.0% WPA
Total batter WPA: +29.0% WPA
GWRBI!: David Wright

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by blueandorange4life; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	blueandorange4life	80
2	Jadden Hopkins	54
3	Abstract NYC	40
4	fxcarden	37
5	Michkin	36
6	Pat Andriola	33
7	Prince	32
8	itsmetsforme	25
9	Steeeve	23
10	twon8	15

Fig Nuthin': Diamondbacks 6, Mets 5

Eric Simon — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:48:27 -0000

Let's play a game. I'm going to show you two numbers and you have to guess their significance to tonight's game. Easy enough. Ready? Here we go.

6
4

These numbers could mean a lot of things. The Diamondbacks scored six runs. The Mets left four men on base. Angel Pagan hit his sixth triple of the season. The Mets went through their lineup exactly four times. Are any of these things that to which I refer? No, they are not. I'll give you a hint: brainstorm. Give up? Alright, I'll let you in on the fun.

6 = the total number of pitches Jeff Francoeur saw on Monday night.
4 = the number of plate appearances he had.

We all know one game doesn't mean that much. Hell, David Wright only saw eight pitches! Jeremy Reed saw six pitches in his one pinch-hitting appearance. Of course, the problem isn't just one game for Francoeur. Over the expanse of his entire career he has established himself as Mr. Swing-At-Anything. No pitch is too high, low, or otherwise outside the strike zone. Why? Because Francoeur doesn't have a strike zone. Most players look for strikes between the letters and the knees and between the corners of the plate. They don't necessarily look to swing at all of these pitches, but good hitters will acknowledge that these are the rough dimensions of the strike zone, notwithstanding the odd creative umpire. Francoeur's strike zone has no such measurable limitations. Francoeur's strike zone is limited only by the universe of possible endpoints for a ball thrown by a pitcher. Over his head, it's in the zone. In the dirt, it's in the zone. Behind him, in the zone. Practically into the dugout, in his zone. This is it. He's not going to change. Let's just hope the Mets' front office dream team figures this out and rightly non-tenders him this offseason.

The real story of the game was Nelson Figueroa, who gave up six runs on ten hits (three homeruns) and a walk in 1.2 innings and will be DFA'd tomorrow. It takes a stupendously awful pitching performance to make Tim Redding look downright decent by comparison, but Figueroa made it happen. Redding relieved the Fig-bomb and tossed 3.1 scoreless innings of relief while throwing just 43 pitches in the process. The entire Mets bullpen was actually quite effective, giving their offense an opportunity to creep back into the game against Dan Haren. The Mets bunched some hits together to plate three runs in the fifth and a Daniel Murphy Blue-Collar Blast in the sixth brought the Mets to within 6-5. They had a chance to tie it in the eighth when Gary Sheffield doubled with one out, but Murphy popped out to third and Failcoeur grounded out on the first pitch he saw to bring the inning -- and the Mets' last real scoring chance -- to a crashing halt.

One bright spot for the Mets' offense was Pagan, who reached base three times and makes me eat crow everytime I portend his imminent demise. I still assert that he'll have a sub-.300 on-base percentage before the season closes, assuming he doesn't suffer some arbitrary injury before then.

Funny thing I observed: Pagan has six triples in 128 at-bats this season, which seems like a lot.

Johan Santana takes on Joel Pineiro at 7:10pm Tuesday as the Cardinals roll into town for a two-gamer.

Swag Contest

Swag contest results can be found here and the next game's swag form already available. You can read more about the swag contest here.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* AZ Snakepit Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Angel Pagan, +11.9% WPA, Bobby Parnell, +9.9% WPA
Big losers: Nelson Figueroa, -37.7% WPA, Jeff Francoeur, -15.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Murphy solo homerun in sixth, +13.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Sheffield GIDP in fifth, -12.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -13.4% WPA
Total batter WPA: -36.6% WPA
GWRBI!: Mark Reynolds

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by Jadden Hopkins; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	Jadden Hopkins	99
2	fxcarden	95
3	Chickendirt	44
4	Abstract NYC	41
5	AnthonyR	36
6	RIPShea	31
7	KeithsMoustache	30
8	Mex_17	30
9	Pat Andriola	28
10	Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright	18