After An Incredible Comeback, Mets Lose A Heartbreaker, 11-9

• For the first six and a half innings, only one team showed up to play baseball, and the Mets were not that team.


• The Brewers were cruising, up 7-1 going into the seventh inning. Then Angel Pagan seemingly woke up the Mets, when he made a spectacular diving catch, robbing Jerry Hairston of an extra base hit.


• The Mets took that energy with them into the bottom of the seventh, piling on five runs, capped by a huge two-out, two run pinch-hit double by Lucas Duda, trimming the lead to 7-6.


• K-rod, the set-up man, came in for Brewers in the eighth inning to face the Mets for the first time since his departure but he was no match. Josh Thole delivered a pinch hit RBI double, driving in Ruben Tejada who had walked just before, to tie the game at seven. Angel Pagan followed with a two run bomb into the Pepsi Porch, lifting the remaining Mets faithful to their seats for what would have been one of the greatest wins of the season.


• Unfortunately, Jason Isringhausen did not have anything going for him today. He faced four batters, walked three of them, and was pulled for Manny Acosta leaving the bases loaded, with the Mets only 9-8, with Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder coming up. All four of those runners eventually scored.


• Acosta started out beautifully. He got Braun to fly out to shallow right, and got ahead on Fielder with two nasty pitches to get the count to 0-2. Regrettably, Fielder decided this was a good time to improve his MVP candidacy. He hit a pitch that almost bounced through the infield to tie the game. Casey McGehee followed with another two run single, bringing the lead to 11-9, and the Mets were finished. They went down one, two, three in the ninth, and the incredible comeback was no more.

As a Mets fan, I think my life expectancy goes down one year for every year that I am a fan. Watching Izzy pitching that ninth inning, after such a great team effort to regain the lead, was gut-wrenching. I simply feel bad for Terry and the team; to have to swallow this one and come back for an early game tomorrow cannot be easy. This team continues to “Amaze” because even though they have nothing to fight for, they have showed they will do nothing but.

Tomorrow the Mets finish up the series against the Brewers, with R.A. Dickey on the mound against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:10.

Mets Look To Bounce Back Against Brew Crew

August 20, 2011

4:10 PM ET

Citi Field, New York

TV: FOX

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: Chris Capuano (9-11, 4.58 ERA)

Capuano lost his last start against Arizona, giving up nine hits and four runs in six innings.  Capuano spent five seasons with Milwaukee, and will make his first career start against his old team.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Starting Pitcher: Randy Wolf (10-8, 3.30 ERA)

Wolf beat the Dodgers in his last start, blanking them over eight innings despite giving up six hits and five walks. Over the last five years, Wolf is 6-0 against the Mets.

Mets Morning News: Reyes Return, Nimmo Begins Mets Career, Benches Clear

Yesterday, Jose Reyes tested his strained hamstring and while he said it has improved, it is unlikely he will be able to return when first eligible on Tuesday. Terry Collins seemed pleased with the update, Reyes not as much.

“Things are going great,” Collins said before today’s game against the San Diego Padres. “He’s anxious for us to get back, but he’s been swinging, he’s been hitting, catching ground balls, throwing. Doing some lateral exercises, some lateral things.”

“My confidence running-wise wasn’t there,” Reyes said. “Any time you have problems with your hamstring, you’re not going to get confidence back right away. It is what it is. Now I try to be healthy, get on the field and finish strong.”

Brandon Nimmo, the Mets first round pick who signed Monday at midnight, made his Mets debut last night, going 1-6 with a run scored.

“The Mets most recent first round pick, Brandon Nimmo made his professional debut Friday, going 1-for-6 with a single and a run scored for the Gulf Coast League team. Considering he didn’t sign until Monday at midnight, just impressed to see him playing in a game in under a week.  So that’s good.  Hey, it’s nice he got a hit in his professional debut.”

In the eighth inning of last night’s game, Tim Byrdak and Prince Fielder exchanged some words that led to both benches clearing. No punches were thrown.

"It was just a miscommunication," Byrdak said. "He had said something coming out of the box that I thought was directed toward me. I said something back. When he hit first base, he came back and asked me who I was talking to. I asked him who he was talking to. He said he was talking to himself. I said OK and I started walking toward the dugout and I see everybody hopping the [dugout] fence to go back out . . . I was real surprised."

Fielder: "He said something I didn't like. So I just asked him. I think we got it settled." Fielder continued: "Yeah, I was talking to myself." And asked why he approached Byrdak, Fielder said, "I had a question I had to get off my chest."

After Benches Clear, Mets Drop The Opener 6-1

• The game was delayed two hours and 46 minutes because of rain.


• Mike Pelfrey was, well, Mike Pelfrey. In five innings, he gave up 12 base runners and three earned runs, picking up the loss.


• Not many hitters showed up for the Mets. Angel Pagan picked up another three hits, while Josh Thole picked up the Mets only RBI. Other than that, only two other Mets picked up hits.


• In the eighth inning, with the score 6-1, the benches cleared after Prince Fielder was not pleased with an inside pitch from Tim Byrdak.

The Mets play the Brewers again tomorrow with Chris Capuano facing off against Randy Wolf. The game time is 4:10.

Meet The Met: Juan Lagares

I have been waiting for weeks to write about Lagares, thinking his play would cool off. After a month of outstanding baseball and no slump in sight, I could not wait any longer.

Before this season, Lagares was known as a top prospect that never fulfilled his potential. Back in 2006, the Mets signed him as a 17 year old short stop from the Dominican Republic, thinking they found Jose Reyes a double play partner for the next ten years.

That player never showed up; until this season.

Lagares debuted as a 17 year old in the Dominican Summer League, where he hit .255 in 57 games. Nothing special, but since he was so young, not much was to be expected because surely he would get better each year.

He didn’t.

Nobody could have expected or wanted him to spend the next four years in low A-Ball Savannah as that would seem to represent a failure in his development, but that is what happened. After four straight years in low A, Lagares was a forgotten man. However, if you take a closer look at his year-to-year stats, he WAS developing, just at a painfully slow pace.

Take a look at his numbers development in the SAL:

	2007	2008	2009	2010
BA	.210	.254	.274	.300
OBP	.262	.285	.305	.318
SLG	.317	.337	.333	.459

While his improvement across the board, especially his 2010 numbers, look very good, his peripherals over that same time period were quite the opposite. Over those four seasons, he struck out 178 times and only walked 39 times; good for a K-rate of 19.3%! Not only is that a terrible ratio for any power hitter, where the extra bases cover it up a little, but for a player who only hit nine home runs in those 920 at-bats, the ratio stands out even more.

So even though his average and slugging percentage in 2010 were nice, those outside numbers showed a player may not be ready for higher levels. It was easy to see why, after his promotion to high A-Ball, against more advanced pitching, Lagares struggled. In his first 133 at bats, Juan hit .233, with a .248 OBP and a .316 SLG, striking out 18 times with only two walks.

A 21 year old struggling out of the gate is not abnormal in the Florida State League, but it will not help you get noticed, at least not in a good way. By your fifth season in A ball, if you aren’t dominating the league, many scouts and front office may not even consider you as a player destined for AA, forget the major leagues.

That is why his 2011 season was so surprising. Lagares played four consecutive seasons in Low A-Ball! He couldn’t touch high A-Ball in his brief time there. He has taken his expectations for the 2011 season and blown them out of the water.

His career batting average in the minor leagues coming into this season was .254, split between low A-Ball and high A. This season, he is hitting .353, in more advanced leagues of high A and AA. He has 24 walks this season; he had 25 walks in his last three seasons COMBINED. The outrageous numbers continue, and they only get better when you look at his stats after his promotion to AA.

Lagares has accumulated 95 at-bats in AA, and decided hitting .339 in High-A was not good enough. Juan is hitting .400 in Binghamton, with a .589 SLG, and has firmly placed himself on the map as a legitimate Mets prospect.

Another thing to like about Lagares, is that he is still young. My prospect crush Reese Havens (who found himself on Baseball America’s prospect hot sheet) is turning 25 in October. Lagares turned 22 in March. He is still developing into his body, and as such, has more room to grow and further enhance his game.

I am not saying he is the top outfield prospect in the Mets organization. I am not even sure he is a top ten prospect.

What I am saying, is that when Lagares signed way back in 2006, he was billed as a top prospect with the talent to play in the Major Leagues someday. Before this season, that vision was more like a dream. After this season, that vision may come to fruition someday soon.



Zach is also the author of metsvibe.wordpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @zpetersel

Mets Open Series Against First Place Brewers

August 19, 2011

7:10 PM ET

Citi Field, New York

TV: WPIX

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: Mike Pelfrey (6-9, 4.58 ERA)

Pelfrey should expect some boos in his first start at home since his controversial comments. In his last start, he took a loss against Arizona, giving up two runs in four innings before exiting after being hit on the elbow with a line drive.  Pelfrey lost his last start against Milwaukee, on June 9, despite giving up only two runs and four hits in six innings.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Starting Pitcher: Shaun Marcum (10-3, 3.50 ERA)

In his last start, Marcum allowed just one run in 7.2 innings and struck out five Pittsburgh Pirates, but took a no decision. Marcum stifled the Mets back in June, giving up two hits and no runs in six innings, but earned a no decision in an eventual Mets win.

Mets Lineup:

Pagan-CF, Harris-2B, Wright-3B, Duda-1B, Baxter-RF, Pridie-LF, Thole-C, Tejada-SS, Pelfrey-RHP

UPDATE: The game is in rain delay

Mets Morning News: Jacobs Tests Positive, Pagan Wants To Stay, BrewersStreak Into New York

Former Met Mike Jacobs was suspended 50 game yesterday after testing positive for HGH.  Jacobs, who last played for the Mets at the beginning of last season, was lingering in the Colorado Rockies minor leagues system when the results came through.

Jacobs, 30, is the first professional athlete in the United States to test positive for H.G.H., a World Anti-Doping Agency spokesman said. Since the test was introduced in 2004, he is the eighth athlete to test positive worldwide, the agency said.

There is no testing for HGH in the major leagues, but the minor leagues began testing for the PED last year.

“A few weeks ago, in an attempt to overcome knee and back problems, I made the terrible decision to take H.G.H.,” Jacobs said in the statement, a rare confession of doping in a sport where many players who have tested positive denied ever knowingly using a drug. “I immediately stopped a couple of days later after being tested. Taking it was one of the worst decisions I could have ever made, one for which I take full responsibility.”

Mets outfielder Angel Pagan says he wants to stay in New York next year, but admits that this season has been a struggle.

"What will happen next year, it’ll happen. You never know what can happen. You can get traded, stay here. I just want to finish strong for the team and see what will happen next year. Obviously I haven’t had the season I planned on. It’s been a tough season – not just for me, but for the whole team.

The Mets square off against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight.  After salvaging a series win in San Diego, this series will be a tough test.

When [the Brewers] arrive at Citi Field on Friday for a three-game weekend series, they will be riding a huge run — 19 victories in their last 22 games — that has given them a commanding lead in the N.L. Central.

Former Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez makes his return to New York after last month's trade.