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Expos at Mets: April 6, 2006| | After only one spring running diary, this is my first one in the
regular season. Hopefully Pedro can manage as well under an
abbreviated spring, with all kinds of ailemts, he makes his season
debut today against Ramon Ortiz. Yeah I know they're the
Washington Nationals, however they'll always be the Montreal
Expos. For the baseball fans, they are to the Mets as the Orioles
are to the Yankees, so they need to earn my respect and my calling them
the proper name....
7:00PM Gary Cohen is on with Keith Hernandez, officially making the terrestrial radio obsolete.
7:02 Pedro says he's not feeling well, talking about how he's not ready
to the weather, and so on. We can hope that it's just Pedro being
Pedro and he has a good outing...
7:05 Here's a SNY feature, a mic on Mets utility player Chris Woodward during batting practice.
7:06 Ballplayers are great guys, I wanted, still do want, to be one,
but man they don't have much to say. Then again they have the mic
on them, it's not like they're gonna talk about stuff the average guy
wants to hear about.
7:10 Expos lineup looks solid, last night's hero, Ryan Zimmerman batting 5th.
7:11 Brandon Watson grounds out to Jay Rey and Pedro is crisp through 1/27th of the game.
7:12 Jose Vidro with a single, you know, I don't care, I think Soriano
is a better player, Vidro should be playing catch in left.
7:13 Petey gets Jose Guillen to hit into a 3-6-3 double play, well done by Carlos and Jose.
7:15 Ramon Ortiz, a pitcher with a championship under his belt with the Angels throws a strike to Jay Rey.
7:16 Reyes with a leadoff single, that's especially good as he's on both fantasy teams I run.
7:18 Paul LoDuca with a hit and run single and the Mets are onto a good start here in the first.
7:19 Here's Beltran who Cohen notes had the propensity for the home run during a Pedro start, 9 of his first 10 last year.
7:20 Beltran grounds into a forceplay, in comes Jose, 1-0 Mets.
7:23 While Carlos Delgado is up, I'd like to say what the hell is with
9/11 conspiracy theorists, I mean really. Coincidence, yeah, just
was on my mind.
7:24 And Delgado pops out to short, here comes D-Wright.
7:25 Keith suggests that Beltran try and steal here with two outs,
can't say I argue with the logic, and as I type this, he stole second
base. That's steal number one for Carlos on the season.
7:26 Whoa...Carlos trying for third, he's getting greedy now. And
greed is good, though kind of self serving at this point.
7:28 Carlos Beltran come on down, opposite field, broken bat RBI single for D-Wright, 2-0 Mets.
7:30 D-Wright sticks out his tongue, shades of his Royal Airness, if
he's baseball's equivalent well there'll be a lot of happy Mets fans
for starters.
7:31 C-Flo flies out and thats the inning.
7:33 Here's Private Pyle, Nick Johnson, notable for hitting a three run
homer off of yesterday's starter, Brian Bannister who was making his
big league debut...oooo big man.
7:34 Pedro nails Johnson, it was all a dream, fat boy!
7::35 A pop fly single by Soriano into no mans land and here comes Ryan Zimmerman.
7:37 Petey pwnz0rs Zimmerman for the first out, his first strikeout of the game and season
7:38 Crisp play by D-Wright with a barehand grab on that grounder. Shades of Robin Ventura in his prime...
7:39 Pedro is going to intentionally walk Brian Schnieder. I
understand why, but I still have to ask WHY? If he could actually get a
hit of Petey, they deserve two runs.
7:41 Oh noes! Ortiz with a dribbler that Pedro threw over Delgado's
head and down the line. 2 runs score and the game is tied.
C'mon Petey, you're better then that, have some respect for yourself.
7:42 At least I can put my reasoning behind walking Schnieder as a
feather in my cap because that was just awful, a 2 run single isn't
nearly as awful as that because there you'd have the hope they get out
of it before it's snatched away instead of just getting beat.
7:43 Petey K's Watson to end the inning. 2-2 ballgame.
7:46 Watson catches Nady's flyout and I think to myself, what player
willingly says I want the number 0. I know Rey Ordonez had it
prior to '98, but why? What's the appeal? Why one zero, let
alone two zeroes, is it because you're double the zero? It's just
silly.
7:48 Mr. Anderson grounds out to short, 0-9 on the season, 1-27 in his
major league career. This man wears the number 1, again, why,
that number stinks. The only guys who wear that are total douches.
7:49 And that's a 1-2-3 second, two in the books, 2-2 game.
7:51 Fuck the New York Times, I read the Post.
7:54 A leadoff walk to Vidro and a hit by pitch to Guillen, this is not
a good sign. And the first pitch to Johnson is saved by LoDuca from
going to the backstop. I think The Fuhrer may need to make an
appearance soon, or who is it now, Darren Oliver for some reason...
7:56 Pwnage, pure pwnage by Petey on Pyle with a called third strike.
7:57 And Pedro says "silly bitch, your weapons cannot harm me",
following up the strikeout with a Soriano flyout to left and Zimmerman
getting caught browsing. Onto the bottom of the frame...
8:04 Keith Hernandez is talking about bat size and how he used a 33
ounce bat. My previous bat was 34, and after swinging that for a
while the 33 ouncer which replaces it is amazingly light, which should
be good in the coming weeks, following Hernandez logic that "You want
to swing the bat, you don't want the bat to swing you."
8:06 HA-HA! Lo Duca with an infield hit, gotta love the hometown scoring.
8:07 Beltran hears the boo's after flying out to left. Poor guy,
I understand why, but Beltran is still a decent player and the most
productive CF since Jay Payton in 2000, and not counting that probably
'96. Yeah, Cameron was good in '04, but lets be real, the man
batted like .230 and struck out like crazy. Give him a break,
guys, it's not like he's Kaz who's just garbage.
8:09 Delgado caught browsing on a questionable pitch, that's three in the books. Still 2-2.
8:11 Ooo it's new Shea, shown in 3D on SNY. It looks amazing,
can't wait until 2009, though I will miss the piece of shit that is
Shea. It is a piece of shit, but it's our piece of shit!
8:13 Jeff Wilpon is talking about why there are less seats, which with
all the jargon, you know it's just because he wants to charge more for
tickets.
8:14 Pedro walked Ramon Ortiz, if you were to tell me that would
happen, I'd say that I'm dating Keira Knightley and A-Rod would come
through in the clutch.
8:16 Oh la-di-da, the Upper Deck is going to be called the Promenade in
New Shea. And Pedro gets out of the inning, onto the bottom of
the 4th....
8:19 Wow, throwing in on D-Wright to start the inning. Makes sense, Petey hit two of their guys.
8:20 And again, that's a little messed up, either hit him or don't. Ha! Pwned, D-Wright with an opposite field single.
8:22 Cliff Floyd is an American Revolution! Or rather an opposite
field single, getting ducks on the pond for X to the N, or simply X who
carries a robust .500 batting average into this plate appearance.
8:26 That was quite a play, X hit it up the middle and it bounced of
either Ortiz' foot or the rubber and bounced sky high and was
caught. However, it was called an infield hit so bases loaded,
despite some controversy. Up comes Mr. Anderson with his 1-27
career batting average with the bases loaded.
8:28 And Mr. Anderson pops out, 1-28 in his major league
career. I'm sorry, at least Ordonez could bat .200, this is
starting to get old.
8:29 This guy does it all, Petey with the go ahead RBI
single. Wow, for the second time this game, I am dumbfounded with
something Pedro has done. 3-2, Mets.
8:31 Cliff Floyd and Xavier Nady, come on down! It's a two run single for Jay Rey, make that 5-2, Mets.
8:32 Spos' catcher Brian Schnieder drops Lo Duca's pop up in foul
ground, ooo this is getting ugly fast. This is what I like to
call reality since you can take the Expos out of Montreal, but you
can't take the Expos out of the Nationals.
8:33 Boo comeupance as Lo Duca hits into a double play. 4 complete frames here, 5-2, Mets.
8:36 Pedro onto start the 5th, and other then a blip in the second he's
looked decent all things considered, especially as he considered it a
'spring training start'
8:37 Petey clips Guillen and he runs out to get him. Lo Duca and
the ump manage to hold him back. Carlos Delgado ran in between
him and Pedro which showed me something, it's good to see that just
three games into the season. Julio Franco manages to calm Guillen
down, which shows how respectable a figure he is.
8:41 Gotta love Jay Rey, just standing at short with his glove on his
head like a little kid. He has this expression like "Who gives a
shit, let's play." What a fun player.
8:43 Play resumed and Pyle takes it out to right with a 3 run shot, the
game is tied at 5. Bet Guillen feels like an ass now, with a tie
game.
8:45 Pedro dials it up to get Soriano on strikes for the first out.
8:46 Petey gets R-Zim to take a whiff, I think Guillen just agitated
him and after getting his bearings back after Johnson's shot, he's mad
now.
8:47 Petey gets Clayton to ground out to Wright and that's your
inning. Certainly dramatic, as the game is tied at 5 and Pedro's
not getting a Christmas present this year from Jose Guillen.
8:52: Carlos Delgado with my first called shot of 2006, a solo homer
and the Mets retake the lead 6-5. That's Delgado's second homer
of the season, a laser off the '69 championship banner.
8:55 I'll take advantage of this lull in the action to say, I tell you
I picked a hell of a game to start watching. Pedro, the bench
clearing incident, what a game. I feel bad for Will in Virginia
who has the game blacked out from the Expos broadcast.
8:57 Petey is going on to start the 6th inning against the bottom third
of the Expo order. Darren Oliver getting loose for the Mets and a
grounder to Delgado for out number one.
8:58 Pirates legend Daryle Ward onto pinch hit, a fixture on many of my
fantasy teams for a couple of weeks back in '04. Notable as the
only player to hit the ball on the fly into the Alleghany River in
Pittsburgh's PNC Park.
9:02 Here comes Jose Vidro, 1-1 with 2 walks. Pedro gets a fly
out to left.. Can I hear a Sori's Better! I don't give a
shit that he hasn't touched Petey today, it's the principle. Onto
the bottom of the 6th...
9:05 X to the N sighting: leadoff double off new pitcher Jason
Bergmann. Your final line for RAMOOOOOOONE Ortiz, 5 innings, 10
hits, 6 runs, all earned and 1 strikeout. Not a pretty day.
9:07 Even Gary says that Mr. Anderson has gotta start hitting. He
fails at sacrificing and strikes out instead, cue the Price is Right
loser sound. Where's J-Kepp when we need him?
9:10 Pinch hitter Jose Valentin grounds out for out number two, and the
Expos are going to the bullpen for Washington fixture Joey Eischen to
face Jose Reyes. With the pinch hitting, Petey's done today, and
his final line on an off day: 6 innings, 4 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned, 5
walks and 6 strikeouts. Not pretty, but should be good enough to
win if the pen holds up.
9:12 Keith says that Reyes is a better right handed hitter, making for
some questionable strategy as the plan was to turn him around and make
him bat righty.
9:14 Reyes down looking on a questionable pitch so onto the 7th inning.
9:16 Pedro Feliz with a 3 run double against the Braves today in the
league roundup in the Giants 6-4 win. It's phenomenal just
because Feliz got a start on one of my fantasy teams.
9:17 I finally get to see one of my favorites, Duaner Sanchez take the
mound here on the 7th. Apparently they'll need a new home plate
umpire, Ted Barrett needs to be attended to by the trainer. A
curious turn of events, and poor Duaner has to wait this out.
9:20 Still no respite, I always like to see the cliques that form
during the waiting for something to happen. It always sucks when
you can tell theres the one guy nobody likes on the team, like the
pitcher and catcher talk, infielders, and outfielders. And
sometimes, you have the guy whos all alone, nobody likes him, and that
has to just be a hopeless feeling.
9:22 Gary and Keith are talking about Jimmy Rollins hitting streak,
which was halted earlier today at 38 games. They bring up the
point that I've thought, that it shouldn't count if he did make it
because it was over two seasons, unlike DiMaggio's which was 56 games
over one season.
9:25 So how about those Nets? At least there's one decent basketball
team here in the greater New York Metropolitan area, the streak up to
13 games. Not bad, J-Kidd, Vinsanity and RJ playing great
ball. The bench is the key to the run though, so hopefully they
keep it up in the playoffs.
9:27 OK, this is getting annoying. Something has befallen the
home plate ump, which they will not get into. And umpire Rick
Reed will take over behind the plate, so they're going with three over
the rest of the game.
9:30 And we're back, Jose Guillen getting the boos as he steps in against Duaner.
9:31 Guillen is caught browsing for out number one. Sanchez with some gas at 95 mph on that last pitch.
9:33 The fourth Expo to get hit by pitch, today, as Sanchez goes inside
on Pyle. How about these guys make an effort to get out of the
way? Seriously, it's not like these are balls at guys heads.
9:35 Oh noes, Soriano with a hit up the middle and gets to second on
the throw. Second and third with 1 out, for R-Zimm.
9:36 Duaner gets a pop out, so just one out away from getting out of
the jam. Old friend Marlon Anderson coming up to pinch hit here
with two outs, and he'll be intentionally walked so it's up to the
slumping Brian Schnieder.
9:41 Duaner gets his man, a pop out to 1st and thats your 7th
inning. Gotta like what your seeing from him so far, the scouts
who said he isn't ready for big spots can blow me. I have faith
in this guy, definately more then Jorge "Armando Benitez II" Julio
*shudder*
9:43 Damian Jackson, known for his collision with Johnny Damon in the
'03 ALDS against the A's into replace Clayton at short. Eischen
still in against Paul Lo Duca leading off the 7th.
9:46 Take a walk, Paul, here's Carlos "0 for the season thus far" Beltran.
9:47 Carlos Beltran says "I'll take the number two to go", with a shot into the seats in left. 8-5 Mets
9:49 Beltran takes his time to go take a curtain call. Father
Time saves the day again as he tells him to take a curtain call.
Apparently Carlos is displeased with the boos and rightfully so, big
ups to Franco, and Omar for taking a chance on a 47 year old reserve.
9:54 CLIFF FLOYD IS AN AMERICAN REVOLUTION! RBI double to right, scores Wright and its 9-5 now.
9:55 X to the N sighting: intentional walk after C-Flo's double.
They know X gon' give it to 'em, and play it safe. Also they know
Anderson Hernandez couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat the way
he's going now.
9:57 Mr. Anderson hits a hard liner to left, thats a respectable out there. No shame there.
9:58 Duaner Sanchez up to bat, this should be good...er, maybe not, he looked like a dildo on that swing.
10:00 Duaner with a K, but a 3 run frame to give the Mets a cushion as we go into the 8th.
10:03 The Wikipedia up, Wiki Gonzalez leading off in the 8th and he tastes some Duaner heat, looking foolish on the K.
10:06 Brandon Watson is victim number three and as an encore he takes
Jose Vidro to Duaner Sanchez Academy, Strikeout 101. Duaner K's
the side in the 8th and just one inning to go.
10:09 Fraud, Felix Rodriguez is to pitch the bottom of the 8th, with Jose Reyes leading off.
10:12: Take three, Jose, thats his first triple of 2006 after 17 in
2005. Everytime he finds the gap, he's got three bases in his
back pocket. Like I say, this guy is just a lot of fun to
watch. Everyone talks about D-Wright, but you can't forget about
this guy either, this is going to be a great tandem, baseball's Thunder
and Lightning if you will.
10:13 Uh oh, Fraud threw at Lo Duca, and he's out of the game, pwned by the ump, thats rough.
10:!5 Expos manager, Frank Robinson has a beef, his guys have been hit
6 times in the last two games and the first ejection comes from the
first Met to be hit. Allow me to play Devil's Advocate and say
that you had a guy making his major league debut and was a smidge wild
yesterday in Brian Bannister and a creaky Pedro, who still, for all
intents and purposes is in Spring Training mode. So it's just
wrong place and wrong time for the 'Spos.
10:18 Jon Rauch into replace Fraud against Carlos Beltran. Alas
it seems the wheels may have fallen off of the Expos wagon, sucks for
them.
10:22 Rauch has a tattoo on his left arm of a cross, that's a bit
distracting. Ouch, now they're saying that he has a limit on warm
ups. I'd like to point out the humor in the fact that in years
past, we'd be the ones taking all this. An Expo is an Expo is an
Expo is now a National.
10:25 Beltran has a 4 RBI game today with his sac fly scoring Reyes. 10-5, Mets.
10:27 A little irony from Gary, the rules regarding beanballs and what
not, were developed while Frank Robinson was involved with the
Disciplainary Board.
10:29 3 hit night for D-Wright, Lord knows one of my fantasy squads appreciates this.
10:32 C-Flo takes a called strike three and onto the 9th where sidearmer Chad Bradford will be on to close it out.
10:35 Endy Chavez makes his Mets debut replacing C-Flo in left.
Here comes Jose Guillen to face the sidearming righty, and thats one
man down with a grounder to Jay Rey.
10:37 I love that Omar got Bradford, I was always fascinated with those
guys whos knuckles almost scrape the ground when they pitch. I
personally always thought that if you looked at their hands after they
pitched, they'd be covered in dirt.
10:42 Bradford gets Soriano swinging for out number two after a Pyle
single, and here comes R-Zimm as the last hope for the Expos.
10:44 The golden sombrero for Zimmerman to end the game and the Mets
win 10-5. They take 2 out of 3 from the Expos in the season
opening series. Pedro, your winner, and Ortiz your loser.
Through 3 games, Julio not withstanding this team is looking good,
hopefully they keep it up. I've been ignoring this thing of late,
however I will endeavor to write in it more often as the season
progresses.
-AA
| | | Posted 4/6/2006 10:46 PM - 16 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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