SB Nation User Blog: Eric Simon

Rodrig-D'oh!: Phillies 7, Mets 2

Eric Simon — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:50:02 -0000

A Tale Of Two Pitchers

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times.

Rodrigo Lopez last pitched a big league game on July 26, 2007 with the Rockies. Rodrigo Lopez allowed just two runs on six hits and a walk against the Mets on Friday night. Rodrigo Lopez kept the Mets off-balance and gave his team a good chance to win the game.

Livan Hernandez has started more games and thrown more innings than anyone in baseball since 2000. Livan Hernandez allowed seven runs on ten hits and four walks in three innings against the Phillies on Friday night. Livan Hernandez gave the Mets and their woeful offense almost no chance to win the game.

[end scene]

Pat Misch, Bobby Parnell and Elmer Dessens threw five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk and throwing just 64 pitches in the process. Hernandez took 81 pitches to finish three innings. Hernandez's game score was 9! He started with 50! He was 41 points worse than if he had done nothing at all! How many consecutive sentences can I end with exclamation points?!

Here's a quick game: which of these players would you prefer to have starting at second base:

Player A: .331 wOBA in 2009, 1,525 career games at second base
Player B: .319 wOBA in 2009, 3 career games at second base

I defended the Fernando Tatis signing before the season, but he's been nothing short of terrible for the Mets this year, regardless of position. The best thing I could say about the Luis Castillo contract was that it was better than having David Eckstein for four years, but the Mets are stuck with him for now and he hasn't been awful this year. Unless there's an injury we don't know about there's simply no excuse for playing Tatis, a lousy defensive outfielder and, right now, a worse hitter than Castillo, at second base. Ever.

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: Brian Schneider, +4.0% WPA, Pat Misch, +1.8% WPA
Big losers: Livan Hernandez, -34.9% WPA, Alex Cora, -5.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Werth strikeout to end first, +5.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Dobbs two-run single in first, -9.8% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -32.6% WPA
Total batter WPA: -17.4% WPA
GWRBI!: Greg Dobbs

Game Thread Roll Call

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

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	TKFJ	57
2	Jadden Hopkins	57
3	Sam Page	27
4	EMSfan9	27
5	GenJackRipper	26
6	AnthonyR	25
7	All Shook Down	23
8	Meddler	23
9	pingel	22
10	JamesK	17

Open Thread: Mets vs Phillies

Eric Simon — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:16:33 -0000

Lineup

New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies

07/03/09 7:05 PM EDT

New York Mets	Philadelphia Phillies
Alex Cora - SS	Jimmy Rollins - SS
Daniel Murphy - 1B	Shane Victorino - CF
David Wright - 3B	Chase Utley - 2B
Gary Sheffield - RF	Ryan Howard - 1B
Ryan Church - CF	Jayson Werth - RF
Fernando Tatis - 2B	Greg Dobbs - LF
Nick Evans - LF	Pedro Feliz - 3B
Brian Schneider - C	Paul Bako - C
Livan Hernandez - P	Rodrigo Lopez - P

Livan Hernandez

#61 / Pitcher / New York Mets

Height: 6-2

Weight: 245

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 20, 1975

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Livan Hernandez	5-3	16	15	1	0	0	0	93.2	100	43	42	11	30	49	4.04	1.39

Rodrigo Lopez

#31 / Pitcher / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-1

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Dec 14, 1975

Swag contest is up, more info is here.

Blogger Smackdown: Peter Baker Of The Good Phight

Eric Simon — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:37:26 -0000

By virtue of powers beyond the understanding of our feeble human minds (i.e. luck and the relative crappiness of other NL East teams), the Mets head to Philadelphia tonight to begin a three-game series with the first-place Phillies, trailing the World Champions by just one game. To see what was going on in Philly I checked in with Peter Baker of SB Nation Phillies site The Good Phight.

You can read my answers to his questions here.

Is this the real Ryan Howard: ..252/.335/.539 since the beginning of 2008 with no baserunning skills and (surprisingly) average defense at first? Not bad, but not MVP material.

Yep, that's pretty much on the mark. He lost about 20 pounds in the offseason and worked on his defense, improving from atrocious to slightly above average (although he still can't throw worth a damn). A very good but flawed player. Glad he's on my team, but I think 2006 is going to be something of an outlier once the book closes on his career.

The defensive improvement also kind of begs the question: If he knew this was a flaw, why didn't he work on it before? I guess I should just zip it and be grateful.

Though Mets fans are no doubt grinning ear-to-ear watching Jimmy Rollins struggle as he has, this has to be frustrating for Phillies fans (which, incidentally, also has Mets fans grinning ear-to-ear). What up the J-Roll?

Same question in each of these Q&A's, and you get the same answer: Damned if I know. It seems to be affecting every aspect of his offensive game, except for his strikeout rate, although anecdotally, it's hard to strike out if you're popping up the first pitch every at-bat.

Rollins is 30, and 30 year olds don't often fall off the cliff like this, especially those with Rollins' skill set. I'm optimistic that he'll bounce back to something like 2004-2006 Jimmy, but so far this has been a completely lost season. He had two hits on Thursday night and hit the ball pretty well four times, so maybe that's a positive sign.

Who should be considered bigger disappointment to this point in the season: the Mets or the Phillies?

I have to say the Phillies, but it's kind of handicapped by the relative recent success of each franchise. Aside from Rollins and Raul Ibanez, everyone on the offense has been at or around their career norms. The pitching has just been dreadful, pretty much top-to-bottom, rotation and bullpen. Both sides have had injuries, although the Mets' have been more severe and to more and more important players, which exposed some of their problems with roster depth. The Phillies simply have not played very well.

Is Citizen's Bank Park killing the Phillies' pitching staff? Their home ERA is almost a run higher than their road ER and they've given up homeruns about 25% more often at CBP. Are they ill-fit for that park, or is something else going on?

There are fit issues, as well as the fact that the team, as a whole, is stinking it up at home. They are actually hitting better on the road (.264/.336/.450) than they are at home (.246/.331/.437), with no discernible explanation.

As far as the pitching staff goes, they have a rotation of flyball pitchers (literally all five of them) with only one, Cole Hamels, who can be considered a strikeout pitcher (although Joe Blanton currently leads the team in strikeouts). If 2008 showed anything, it's that a good pitching staff can and will succeed in Citizens Bank Park, but it'd behoove the Phils to bring in or develop some power strikeout pitchers. To that end, they have several promising arms in the minors who may be ready within the next couple of years, including Kyle Drabek, Carlos Carrasco, Vance Worley, and further down the line, northern New Jersey's Jason Knapp.

Also factoring into the mess is the added workload from last season's deep October run. Cole Hamels exceeded his previous season-high in innings pitched by over 60, and Joe Blanton was well over his peak as well. If you believe in a hangover effect, that might be a place to look. But... flags fly forever.

Talk to me about Charlie Manuel: he was seemingly on the next train out of town each of the past few seasons, but now the Phillies are World Series Champions so everything is copacetic, yes? What are Manuel's strengths and weaknesses as a manager?

Head coach/managerial positions in Philadelphia are always tenuous if you read the blogs and listen to sports talk radio. Charlie Manuel has always been incredibly well-liked by his players; it's been an almost completely drama-free clubhouse for four years now. Although admittedly, winning is a terrific deodorant. He doesn't throw his players under the bus in the press, disputes are kept in the clubhouse, and by all accounts things are loose and the players all get along. Chemistry is usually overrated, but I think it can be underrated, too. He's not a tactical genius, and I think he often sticks with players far beyond when he should, although that loyalty and security might go hand-in-hand with how much his players love and respect him. To me, he's a solid B-plus manager.

Grission Infinity: Mets 9, Pirates 8

Eric Simon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:05:08 -0000

This game was just grission to the max. Tim Redding was terrible as usual, but the Mets' offense was explosive, unlike usual. Francisco Rodriguez was awful, unlike usual. Fernando Tatis and Ryan Church were heroes, also unlike usual.

1.5 games back pending tonight's Phillies/Braves game. The Mets could head to Philadelphia Friday night just a game back of the Phillies (and the Marlins), though at worst they'll be two games behind.

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
* Bucs Dugout Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Ryan Church, +37.1, Fernando Tatis, +30.8% WPA
Big losers: Tim Redding, -28.8% WPA, Francisco Rodriguez, -19.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Church RBI single in tenth, +34.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: LaRoche homerun in ninth, -45.2% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -22.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: +72.2% WPA
GWRBI!: Ryan Church

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by guy endore-kaiser; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	guy endore-kaiser	82
2	Ballonthewall	79
3	Jadden Hopkins	79
4	Rigsay	61
5	Evan_S	56
6	AnthonyR	56
7	Michkin	44
8	JoshNY	38
9	TheBigStapler	30
10	wobatus	29

Open Thread: Mets vs Pirates

Eric Simon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:02:17 -0000

Lineup

New York Mets @ Pittsburgh Pirates

07/02/09 12:35 PM EDT

New York Mets	Pittsburgh Pirates
Luis Castillo - 2B	Andrew McCutchen - CF
Alex Cora - SS	Jack Wilson - SS
David Wright - 3B	Delwyn Young - RF
Gary Sheffield - RF	Adam LaRoche - 1B
Fernando Tatis - LF	Garrett Jones - LF
Ryan Church - CF	Andy LaRoche - 3B
Nick Evans - 1B	Robinzon Diaz - C
Omir Santos - C	Ramon Vazquez - 2B
Tim Redding - P	Paul Maholm - P

Tim Redding

#44 / Pitcher / New York Mets

Height: 5-11

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 12, 1978

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Tim Redding	1-3	8	8	0	0	0	0	45.1	48	32	32	7	19	30	6.35	1.48

Paul Maholm

#28 / Pitcher / Pittsburgh Pirates

Height: 6-2

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jun 25, 1982

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Paul Maholm	5-4	16	16	0	0	0	0	99.1	108	51	48	5	33	63	4.35	1.42

Swag contest is up, more info is here.

Rescheduled: John Sickels Live Chat, Tuesday 2pm EDT

Eric Simon — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:56:23 -0000

Just a quick programming note to announce. John Sickels, prospect guru extraordinaire from Minor League Ball, will be taking your questions at 2pm EDT next Tuesday, July 7, right here at Amazin' Avenue. The format will be as follows:

You will post your questions in the comments.
John Sickels will reply to your comments with his answers.

Pretty straight-forward. John will stick around for as long as his schedule and his interest permits, so start thinking of your questions now and don't embarrass us or he'll never come back and it'll be all your fault.

UPDATE: Since today's game is at 12:35pm it didn't make much sense to have John come by at 2pm for the chat. We have rescheduled it for 2pm EDT next Tuesday, July 7.

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

Eric Simon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:34:23 -0000

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

The international signing period begins today and the Mets have already entered the fray. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus confirms that the bonus paid to Ugeth Urbina's son is in excess of $1 million.

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

Eric Simon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:26:31 -0000

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

The international signing period begins today and the Mets have already entered the fray. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus confirms that the bonus paid to Ugueth Urbina's son is in excess of $1 million.

Joey August Promoted To Savannah

Eric Simon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:38:06 -0000

Joey August Promoted To Savannah

After just seven plate appearances, 20th round pick Joey August has been promoted to Low-A Savannah, where he will be reunited with Stanford teammate Sean Ratliff. You can read more about August here.

In other organizational news, RHP Josh Stinson has been promoted to High-A St. Lucie; RHP John Church, the Mets' 23rd round pick, and RHP Tim Smith, a 42nd rounder in 2008, will join August in Savannah.

Rubs Eyes: Mets 1, Brewers 0

Eric Simon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:49:24 -0000

It's funny: Jerry Manuel indicated last night that David Wright would probably have the day off today. I thought it was silly, arguing instead that Wright should be rested on Thursday against an inferior (to the Brewers, anyway) Pirates team. Much to my surprise -- and delight -- I see Manuel's lineup today and Wright is in there in the three-hole. Of course, Wright goes and has a terrible day, going 0-for-4 and striking out three more times. And then the Mets go ahead and win the game anyway.

Wright wasn't alone in his offensive futility this afternoon, as Yovani Gallardo made their whole lineup look foolish for most of the day. He struck out twelve Mets in seven innings and allowed just five hits along the way. Two of those hits combined to plate the only run of the game in the sixth inning. Luis Castillo lead off with a ground-rule double and Ryan Church -- following a Wright strikeout -- knocked Castillo in with a single to center. Not particularly sexy, but the Mets'll take their runs where they can get 'em.

Mike Pelfrey was the star of the show, though, as he shut down the Brewers over 7.2 innings, allowing just six hits and two walks while striking out six. He recorded eleven groundball outs to just five in the air, a very good indicator that his sinker was working well. He must have liked his slider today, as he threw it more often (20.5%) than usual (13.0% this season). It's no surprise that a good breaking ball led to good overall results, particularly in the strikeout department, as the six whiffs tied his season high. Further, his swinging strike rate (8.4%) was well above his season mark of 5.1%. It's amazing what having a solid second offering can do for your performance.

The Mets play a makeup game tomorrow afternoon (12:35pm EDT) in Pittsburgh before heading to Philadelphia for an important three-game series with the NL East-leading Phillies.

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
* Brew Crew Ball Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Mike Pelfrey, +50.8% WPA, Francisco Rodriguez, +20.9% WPA
Big losers: David Wright, -12.2% WPA, Daniel Murphy, -10.3% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Field caught stealing in seventh, +17.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Braun single in ninth, -13.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +84.1% WPA
Total batter WPA: -34.1% WPA
GWRBI!: Ryan Church

Game Thread Roll Call

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

Num	Name	# of Posts
1	AnthonyR	65
2	Ballonthewall	53
3	Rigsay	45
4	David G	34
5	JoshNY	34
6	guy endore-kaiser	33
7	Jadden Hopkins	28
8	mets81	25
9	ol Pete	25
10	Michkin	22

SB Nation User Blog: Eric Simon

Rodrig-D'oh!: Phillies 7, Mets 2

Open Thread: Mets vs Phillies

Lineup

Livan Hernandez

#61 / Pitcher / New York Mets

Rodrigo Lopez

#31 / Pitcher / Philadelphia Phillies

Blogger Smackdown: Peter Baker Of The Good Phight

Grission Infinity: Mets 9, Pirates 8

Open Thread: Mets vs Pirates

Lineup

Tim Redding

#44 / Pitcher / New York Mets

Paul Maholm

#28 / Pitcher / Pittsburgh Pirates

Rescheduled: John Sickels Live Chat, Tuesday 2pm EDT

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

Mets Sign Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina

Joey August Promoted To Savannah

Joey August Promoted To Savannah

*Rubs Eyes*: Mets 1, Brewers 0

Rubs Eyes: Mets 1, Brewers 0