NY Mets FanSite 5/2005

5/31/2005 - NY Mets Lose To Arizona 0-7
Kris Benson didn't exactly pitch a great game tonight. He gave up four runs on eight hits over six innings, including a home run. The NY Mets were down 0-2 in the first inning and just never recovered. Dae-Sung Koo couldn't even pitch one complete inning in relief, he gave up three runs on four hits. The NY Mets went on to lose 0-7. Tomorrow's pitching match up is Victor Zambrano (2-5) vs Brandon Webb (6-1). Hopefully, Zambrano can lead the NY Mets to a victory over the Diamondbacks and Webb. Let's Go Mets!

5/29/2005 - Tom Glavine Did His Job, But The Mets Lost 3-6
Tom Glavine pitched a very good game tonight, he gave up one run on eight hits over six innings of work. The problem wasn't Glavine, it was the bullpen, even though there are some NY Met fans that weren't too happy when they found out that Glavine asked out after the sixth. On the other hand, if he stayed in and lost the game on his own, NY Met fans would have also been upset. But, as it stands and for whatever reasons, Glavine did ask out and the bullpen blew the game. Heath Bell and Mike DeJean both gave up two runs and Dae-Sung Koo gave up one run.

Other than Glavine's pitching performance, there were a few other bright spots. One was Doug Mientkiewicz home run in the fifth inning, his first since May 9, and his seventh for the season. The other bright spot was Cliff Floyd's two RBI singles. This series was definitely one that The NY Mets, and NY Met fans, desperately needed. It was refreshing and showed that the NY Mets can be contenders with the best. Let's just hope that they can continue with their winning streak, instead of winning a few and then losing a few. The NY Mets are off tomorrow and will pick up again on Tuesday evening when Kris Benson (3-1) takes the mound against Brad Halsey (3-2) and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Let's Go Mets!

5/28/2005 - Ishii Makes Sushi Out Of The Marlins For A 6-1 Win!
Kaz Ishii (1-3) shut down the Marlins and earned his first win as a NY Met, his last win was on August 29, 2004 against the NY Mets. But tonight, Ishii was spectacular! He allowed only one run, five hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. He basically did what was expected of him, but no one ever anticipated that he could have done this against the Marlins behind Dontrelle Willis (8-2). To top this off, Mike Piazza broke out of his cold spell with three hits, including two doubles, and three RBI's. Heath Bell came in as relief and Roberto Hernandez closed out the game, both didn't allow any runs. Tonight's game was truly amazing! Let's hope Glavine will be on his mark and come in for the sweep. Let's Go Mets!

5/27/2005 - Pedro Martinez Shutout The Marlins 1-0!
Pedro Martinez (5-1) was on fire tonight and shutout the Marlins 1-0. Martinez fanned ten fish over eight innings of work, giving up only five hits and earned his fifth win of season. Braden Looper came in the ninth inning and took out all three batters for his eleventh save of the season. The NY Mets only run of the game came in the fourth inning when Cliff Floyd hit a double and Mike Cameron, who reached second on a double, scored. Tomorrow nights game is going to be a tough one, Kaz Ishii (0-3 with an ERA of 5.59) is pitching against Dontrelle Willis (8-1 with an ERA of 1.55). Ishii has to be on his mark and the NY Mets offense must be on their mark tomorrow night in order to beat the Marlins behind Willis. Let's Go Mets!

5/26/2005 - The NY Mets Fillet The Fish 12-4!
Kris Benson (3-1) pitched six innings and gave up three runs on five hits, but the difference was that the NY Mets offense finally showed up for work tonight and did some impressive damage, including Kris Benson, with a an RBI single to center and a .300 season average. But the offensive spotlights must go to Jose Reyes who hit two triples and three RBI's and Mike Cameron who hit two doubles and three RBI's. This game needs to be the spark to win this series against the Marlins. Which is no easy task, but a necessity for NY Mets at this point. They need to boost their morale, create an aura of respect amongst competing teams and give NY Met fans something to cheer for. Pedro Martinez takes the mound tomorrow night. Let's Go Mets!

5/25/2005 - The Braves Shutout The NY Mets 3-0 For The Sweep
What a sickening game! Victor Zambrano's (2-5) error in the fifth inning produced two runs and the NY Mets offense decided to take the night off again, which led to their fourth straight loss! Two additional disappointments are the fact that the NY Mets always leave runners in scoring position and Jose Reyes really needs Willie Randolph to get in his face every time he swings at the first pitch. This is a real concern for the NY Mets and all NY Met fans. If Jose Reyes doesn't learn to work the pitch count, he will never turn into the star that everyone thinks he will be. Tonight was another serious disappointment, with the bases loaded he swung at the first pitch and right into a double play to end the inning and any chance of continuing the rally. With this dreadful series behind them, the NY Mets need to focus on the Florida Marlins over the next four games. Let's hope that Kris Benson can right this downward spiral tomorrow night. Let's Go Mets!

5/24/2005 - NY Mets Lose 4-0 To The Braves...Again!
Tom Glavine (3-5) took the mound against his old team and once again, couldn't get the job done. He gave up seven hits and four runs in 6 2-3 innings and is now 1-8 against the Braves. Of course, Glavine isn't solely to blame. The NY Mets offense decided to take the night off and there was no turning back. Overall, Glavine did pitch well going into the seventh, when the Braves scored three. The series finale is tomorrow night and hopefully Zambrano will get the job done. Let's Go Mets!

5/24/2005 - The NY Mets In Perspective
After a quarter of the season in the books, it's obvious to see that this years NY Mets are a better team than last years. But, they are still not going to be a ninety game winning team or a division champion team playing the way they have. The NY Mets have too many problems to contend with. First, they have a very inconsistent and an old starting rotation. Second, they have a very spotty bullpen. Thirdly, they have a young and inexperienced infield with Reyes and Wright, who are superstars in the making - but not there yet and Matsui, who is just an awful defensive player. Lastly, the NY Mets are playing, in what many believe, is the most competitive division in MLB.

The NY Mets are going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years, as long as management stays on the course of getting younger and hungry players, not veterans that are passed their prime. With that said, the NY Mets are still more exciting to watch this year. But, reality is a factor here. They just can't stay consistent, can't regularly beat good teams and just can't beat the division leaders. Sweeping the Reds, a last place team, shouldn't be the highlight for the Mets. It's fun to watch, but not an indicator of their strength. Sweeping the Braves at Turner field, on the other hand, would be a much better indicator of the Mets strength! Let's look ahead to the rest of this week. Let's Go Mets!

5/23/2005 - NY Mets Lose Again To The Braves 8-6
What can you say about Ishii? He just loves to put opposing players on base and then see them cross home plate. On a serious note...he stinks! He gave up seven runs on seven hits and was finally taken out in the fourth inning. Unfortunately, the NY Mets also had defensive problems to worry about. David Wright committed another error today and allowed the base runners to advance on his wild throw that ended up in the Braves dugout. DeJean allowed only allowed one run in relief and the NY Mets did try to rally with homers by Wright, Cameron and Woodward - including a double from Wright and a triple from Reyes. But it wasn't enough! In the end, the Braves did again and got the win. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better game. Let's Go Mets!

5/22/2005 - NY Mets Lose Round III To The Yanks 5-3
Pedro Martinez pitched seven solid innings against Pavano and the Yankees, giving up only one run in the process. Martinez did have some some trouble in the first inning when he threw thirty one pitches, but he completed the inning without giving up any runs. The bullpen took over in the eighth inning and just blew the game to bits, along with some bad defensive errors by position players. Dae-Sung Koo, Roberto Hernandez and Mike DeJean gave up a combined four runs over two innings and the Mets offensive just couldn't rally for at least a tie to bring the games into extra innings.

Now for the upside, Cliff Floyd hit his 12th home run of the year and is tied for the National League lead. David Wright also deserves some of the spotlight, he caught a foul ball off of Jason Giambi that was hit into the stands that ended a seventeen minute first inning. As far as the look ahead, the NY Mets have a tough road trip this week, starting a three games series against the Braves and four against the Marlins. In order for the NY Mets to be productive this week, they need to put this series behind them and pick up the pace to compete with these two top division teams. Let's Go Mets!

5/21/2005 - NY Mets Win Round II Against The Yanks 7-1
Wow! Kris Benson (2-1) pitched a lights out six inning shut out against Randy Johnson and the Yankees and the NY Mets bullpen never let him down. To top this off, the NY Mets offense poured it on. Jose Reyes had four RBI's - including a two run triple, Miguel Cairo hit his first home run as a NY Met and David Wright had two RBI doubles.

Now for the best offensive and defensive player of the game...Dae-Sung Koo. With only his second at bat in his MLB career, Koo hit a double of Randy Johnson. He then took third on a sacrifice from Jose Reyes and immediately scored on a head first dive when he noticed that nobody was covering home plate. Koo didn't do too bad in relief either, he struck out all three Yankee batters that he faced!

The only Yankee run came in the ninth inning with two outs, when Alex Rodriguez hit an RBI single off Braden Looper. Other than that, it was lights out for the Yankees! Let's hope that Pedro Martinez isn't bothered by his hip tomorrow, so that he can follow up with another win for the NY Mets. Game time is 1:10 pm.

Now for the bad news. Carlos Beltran had to come out of the game after the fifth inning due to a strained right quadriceps and Kaz Matsui wasn't far behind him. He came out of the game in the sixth inning due to a strained upper back. They are both listed as day to day. Let's hope for their quick and speedy recovery and Let's Go Mets!

5/20/2005 - Mets Lose First Game To Yanks 5-2
The first game between the NY Mets and the NY Yankees was a scoreless pitching dual between Zambrano and Brown going into the fourth inning, when Hideki Matsui, top of the fourth, and Kaz Matsui, bottom of the fourth, both hit doubles to score the go ahead runs for a 1-1 tie.

The trouble came in the top of the sixth inning when Victor Zambrano did what he does best, he walked the ballpark to fill the bases. Then, Kaz Matsui did what he does best, he fumbled a routine play and let a run score for a 2-1 Yankee lead. To make matters worse, Doug Mientkiewicz immediately followed up the next play with another fielding error and the Yankees took a 3-1 lead.

Willie Randolph, and all NY Met fans, had enough of Zambrano's walks and he was replaced by Heath Bell. Bell came in and took out all of the Yankees that he faced. The next offensive moment the NY Mets had was in the seventh, when Jose Reyes hit a double off Sturtze and went on to score off of Carlos Beltran's single. Out went Sturtze and in came Stanton, who couldn't get anyone out when pitching for the Mets - but of course was able to close out the seventh inning against Cliff Floyd. The ninth inning didn't fair any better for the NY Mets, when Roberto Hernandez gave up two more runs for a 5-2 Yankee lead. Mariano Rivera closed out the ninth for a Yankee victory. Hopefully the NY Mets will do a better job tomorrow. Let's Go Mets!

5/18/2005 - Mets Sweep The Reds 10-6
Where do you start with today's game! The Mets offense blasted the Reds pitching and all of today's Mets pitchers were on top of their game, except for Manny Aybar. Let's start off with Glavine, who pitched rather well through six innings, giving up nine hits and two runs, but he did also pitch through a few tough spots and earned his third victory of the season. The bullpen came in and held things together to close out the game. The only kink was Manny Aybar who gave up three runs in the ninth, including a two run homer to Ken Griffey Jr. The big surprise was the Mets offense that just poured it on today. Woodward, Wright and Cameron all went deep, Reyes hit two triples and Piazza went 4-4. This is a nice way to go into the Mets - Yankees series this weekend. Let's all pray that Zambrano won't walk or blow the game Friday night. Let's Go Mets!

5/18/2005 - Pedro Martinez Won't Make The Start -vs- The Yanks
Pedro Martinez (4-1) has been having some discomfort with his hip over his last two starts and had a cortisone shot yesterday to help with the inflammation. Instead of making the series start on Friday, he will pitch on Sunday against Carl Pavano (3-2). Replacing Martinez in the series opener will be Victor Zambrano (2-3) against Kevin Brown (2-4), followed by Kris Benson (1-1) on Saturday against Randy Johnson (4-2).

5/17/2005 - Ishii and Matsui Pull It Out For The Win
Kaz Ishii pitched very well on his first start since coming off the DL. He went six innings and only allowed one run on three hits. If this wasn't enough to get a Met fan happy, take a look at Kaz Matsui, who has been rather awful both offensively and defensively. He hit a two run homer in the seventh that gave the Mets the lead and eventually the win. Two very unexpected performances by both players tonight, yet they were performances that should be expected from very well paid players that both came to MLB with highly acclaimed talent. Tonight's game showed that both players can perform well, even if it is against the last place Reds! Anyway, it is unfortunate that Ishii didn't get the win, which went to DeJean, but overall the bullpen did a fine job and the Mets went on to win 2-1. Glavine pitches tomorrow afternoon and will hopefully be the Glavine of last week and lead the Mets to a sweep of the Reds. Let's Go Mets!

5/16/2005 - Benson Gets The Job Done!
Kris Benson (1-1) did what is expected of him, he pitched a great game against the Reds, striking out eight over 7 2/3. The bullpen and offense also shined nicely. Cliff Floyd hit his eleventh homer of the season and Mike Piazza broke out of his slump with a double and a single. Overall, the Mets pulled it together after two straight losses to beat the Reds 9-2, which was pleasant to witness after after the Reds swept the Mets in April. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Ishii (0-2) can get the job done tomorrow night. Let's Go Mets!

5/15/2005 - The Mets Drop Another One To The Cards
Heilman (3-3) didn't do his best job today and the Mets lost 4-2. He gave up four runs on seven hits, with two home runs. But, Heilman did have a great day for strikeouts with seven. The offense just couldn't catch up to close the gap. Mike Cameron was the only Met to really have any offense today and he was also the reason the Mets had two runs on the board, including a home run in the eighth inning. Hopefully Benson (0-1), will have a better outing tomorrow night against Wilson (1-4) and the Reds. Let's Go Mets!

5/14/2005 - The Mets Were Oh So Close...
Pedro Martinez wasn't exactly on the top of his game today, but neither was Mulder. Martinez gave up two home runs and five runs over six innings. But, the action started to pick up nicely in the bottom of the sixth when the Mets were trailing 5-2, Matsui hit a bases clearing triple to tie the score 5-5. The Mets left the sixth winning 6-5, but Hernandez gave up two runs in the eighth inning and the Cardinals went on to win 7-6. Tomorrow has to be a better day for the Mets. Let's Go Mets!

5/13/2005 - Glavine Actually Beat St. Louis!
Pinch yourself, it's not a dream - Tom Glavine won a game, his 264th victory of his major league career. Glavine really did pitch a gem tonight, allowing only four hits over seven shut out innings. Cliff Floyd, wasn't far behind in his effort, he hit his ninth and tenth home run of the season. Thankfully, Looper didn't blow it and the Mets won 2-0. Let's Go Mets!

5/11/2005 - Zambrano Should Be In The Minors
The Mets lost 4-3 behind Victor Zambrano, who really should be in the minors working on his control. The Mets topped two in the second only to lose the lead when Zambrano gave up three in the second. The Mets just couldn't catch up until pinch hitter, Eric Valent, came through in the clutch and tied the game 3-3 in the ninth. Unfortunately, it was short lived. Bell blew the game when he gave up a home run in the tenth inning. The Mets are off tomorrow, but pick it up again on Friday when Glavine tries to earn a win against St. Louis. Let's Go Mets!

5/10/2005 - Cubs Shut The Mets Out 7-0
Greg Maddux fanned ten NY Mets as the Cubs shut out the Mets 7-0 behind Kris Benson, who had nothing in his tank. Maddux hasn't had a double digit stikeout game since pitching for the Braves on June 15, 2003, when he stroke out eleven Mariners. Kind of reminds the Mets of old times! Hopefully, Zambrano will have better luck tomorrow, not likely, but hopefully. Let's Go Mets!

5/9/2005 - Mets Pullout A Washout In Wrigley
After two rain delays, the Mets came out on top and won 7-4 to beat the Cubs for the first time in Wrigley field since the 2002 season. On top of that, who would of thought that Mientkiewicz would be the NY Mets home run guy? Well maybe not the best home run hitter on the team, but Mientkiewicz now has six home runs to tie his total for last season. Mike Piazza also hit his six home run of the season and his 384th of his career. Let's Go Mets!

5/8/2005 - Glavine = Loss
What else can be said about Tom Glavine that hasn't already been said, besides the fact that he stinks! Glavine gave up eleven hits and four runs and didn't even get the loss, Mike Dejean did. On a brighter note the Mets offense pulled together when trailing 4-0 to tie the game, but the bullpen couldn't hold it together and the Mets lost 5-4. Hopefully Heilman will have a better outing tomorrow night against the Cubs. Let's Go Mets!

5/7/2005 - Mets Beat The Brewers 7-5
Pedro Martinez got the win, but he wasn't impressed with his performance. He did give up a pair of home runs, but the team held together and Martinez got the victory. Beltran hit two - two run home runs and David Wright also hit a homer. An interesting fact is that all of Beltrans' home runs have come during games that Pedro Martinez starts. Let's Go Mets!

5/6/2005 - Zambrano/Piazza Win 7-4
The NY Mets beat the Brewers 7-4 behind Victor Zambrano, now with his second win of the season, and some great hitting. Mike Piazza went deep twice, David Wright hit a solo home run and Mike Cameron also went deep with a two run blast that also marked his 1,000 career hit. Let's Go Mets!

5/5/2005 - Benson/Heilman Combo Pretty Good For 7-5 Win
Kris Benson, back from the DL and pitching his first game of the season, allowed only two runs in just over four innings of work. Benson also got even with the new Met killer, Pat Burrell, by hitting him with a pitch, unfortunately the bases were loaded, so he also walked in a run to tie the game at 2-2.

Aaron Heilman came in in relief with the bases loaded and pitched out of the inning without any further runs scoring and then only allowed one hit over the next 3 1/3 innings. Mike DeJean, also back from the DL, gave up a three run blast, but the Mets still had enough to clinch the victory because of Mike Piazzas' four hits, including a long ball in the eighth inning. David Wright wasn't far behind, he hit a double in the fifth inning that tied the game. Cameron, also back from the DL and playing right field, helped the Mets by providing a base hit at a critical time. Let's Go Mets!

5/5/2005 - Benson Starts & Heilman Goes To The Pen
Kris Benson is getting the start against the Phillies and Padilla today. Should he not be able to handle the pitch count or run into trouble early in the game, Aaron Heilman will be the long relief man out of the bullpen.

5/4/2005 - Jae Seo-So Wasn't So Seo-So!
Jae Seo pitched a beauty, a one hitter into the seventh inning tonight against the Phillies. He pitched like he really wants a spot on the rotation, way to go Jae Seo-So. And what another great night for Cliff Floyd, both offensively and defensively. Cliff hit another home run and made a fantastic catch that prevented two Philly runs. Diaz also got into the long ball action in the third inning ending his 0-21 slump. Looper on the other hand wasn't that good at all, he gave up two home runs before shutting down the Phillies. But, at least he held it together for the Mets 3-2 victory. Let's Go Mets

5/3/2005 - It Was Stated Here Earlier Today!
Earlier today, an article (located below this one) was written about Tom Glavine and his troubles as a Met. Considering how he pitched tonight - it is very obvious that he did not help his cause. The Mets lost 10-3 behind his awful pitching. Glavine, now 1-4, gave up eight runs and walked six batters over three innings. On the upside, Cliff Floyd hit his seventh home run of the year and extended his hitting streak to a career high nineteen games. On top of this, Jose Reyes finally walked for the first time this year. With the Mets pitching staff the way it is, it's hard to say it, but it must be said - Let's Go Mets!

5/3/2005 - Tom Glavine Takes The Mound Tonight
Which Glavine will be pitching tonight? The previous CY Young pitcher or the older version of Jae Seo? Don't get me wrong, I still believe that Glavine has some great stuff in him. The problem seems to be in actually delivering it. Since Galvine came to the Mets, it has been one excuse after another. The most common were, and are, that the Mets were weak up the middle, his pitching style requires better overall infield defense, the umpires aren't giving him the calls that they previously did and so on.

The bottom line is rather simple, adjust! By no means is that an easy thing to do. But I am tired of hearing excuses about why a player performs sub par on the Mets, when he did well elsewhere. Let's take a closer look, if Pedro Martinez didn't have a winning 3-1 record, but instead had a losing 1-3 record (like Glavine) - the media would be filled with stories of how Martinez needs to adjust to the National league hitters, National league ball parks, blah, blah, blah. The real deal is that a quality player performs well regardless. I hate to bring up rival players, but take a look at Gary Sheffield and Roger Clemens. Did they fall apart when they changed leagues? No!

NY Met fans can only hope that with their new leadership, the Mets will cut their losses when 'certain contracts' expire and hopefully never engage in those type of deals again. Hired, over the hill guns never seem to pan out for the Mets. If the Mets are truly the new Mets, then these old ways need to also be a thing of the past. Let's Go Mets!

5/2/2005 - The Mets Win Again!
It feels so much better to proclaim that the Mets win again, instead of - the Mets lose again. The Mets beat the Phillies 5-1 behind Pedro Martinez, who pitched another gem and Carlos Beltran, who hit a three run home run. Cliff Floyd also extended his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games. Let's Go Mets!

5/1/2005 - Mets Do It In The Ninth
Heilman didn't do a bad job. He gave up three runs early in the game, but held it together after that. Randolph also replaced Diaz with Valent and Cairo for Matsui. The bigger news was that for the second straight game, Cliff Floyd was in the cleanup spot and Mike Piazza batted fifth. But, it paid off. Floyd had an an RBI double and has now hit in 17 consecutive games for the longest hitting streak in the majors this season. Piazza, unfortunately, went 0-4. In the end, the Mets rallied for a 6-3 victory. Let's Go Mets!.