Liveblog: New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers- 6/11/07
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by user Tmizzle
This is my second go-round at a liveblog, after the first one ended in disaster. The Struggling Mets (who reached the capital letter status after a 15-7 shellacking at the hands of the Tigers on Sunday) face the Dodgers (who likewise are slipping, having gone 4-6 in their last ten games) for the first time since the Mets swept the Dodgers in the NLDS last year.
Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez (3-1, 1.94 ERA) will toe the rubber against Randy Wolf (7-4, 4.03). El Duque has been outstanding in his three starts since returning from the DL on May 25, allowing only 2 runs in 19 innings. Wolf has been a solid addition to the Dodgers starting rotation this season, after pitching the previous 8 seasons for the Phillies.
The SNY crew for tonight is: Gary Cohen on play-by-play, Ron Darling with color commentary, and Kevin Burkhardt as the roving reporter.
(Remember: All times are in Eastern Standard Time, because that's where I live.)
10:09- First pitch of the night thrown out by: Victoria Beckham, aka "Posh Spice." That's outstanding. She throws better than the Mayor of Cincinnati.
10:10- It's Jose Reyes's birthday today. He's only 24. I'm genuinely excited about that. I mean, he's only 24 and he's the best shortstop in baseball right now. Go ahead, argue with me.
10:12- Gary: "You take a lot of liberties against this Dodger outfield." It's great that your $45 million center fielder can't throw as hard as one of the Spice Girls.
10:13- Shawn Green's back! That's not sarcasm, he got off to such a great start this year that I was legitimately disappointed when he was injured. Hopefully he picks up where he left off.
10:15- I love Shawn Green right now. Bloop hit to score Reyes, then he steals second and goes to third on a throwing error by Russell Martin. 1-0 Mets, and Green on third with no outs.
10:18- David Wright has homered in 4 straight games coming into tonight. I think it's safe to say that he's really warm. No sooner do I say that than Wright singles up the middle of the drawn-in infield. 2-0 Mets.
10:22- Paul Lo Duca (actual nickname: Dookie) has the second highest batting average against lefties in the NL.
10:23- Wolf gets through the first without any further trouble. Russell Martin is not impressing me on the defensive end. So far he's given up a passed ball, 2 stolen bases and a throwing error. Ladies and Gentlemen, your NL All-Star Catcher (at this point).
10:25- NOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...is not playing tonight.
10:26- El Duque's leg kick makes me cringe sometimes. I don't know how it doesn't hurt.
10:28- The incredible Juan Pierre just hit a soft grounder to second. Give that man a million dollars. Oh wait, the Dodgers already gave him 45 million of those. Good solid investment.
10:31- Green's moving well out in right field, or as Gary Cohen puts it, he looks "frisky." Ok? Mets get through the inning 1-2-3.
10:33- The Mets are in the second series of a six-series stretch in which they play 6 teams that made the playoffs last year (the Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, Twins, A's, and Cardinals). That's unprecedented in major league history. Why don't they just throw in the Red Sox and Angels in there too?
10:38- Wolf's not throwing his curveball for strikes, which spells trouble for the Dodgers tonight. Also, in the category of Things I Saw Coming, another ball got by Martin (this time a wild pitch), and now Jose Valentin is on third.
10:40- Forget the Saw movies. Forget Hostel. Forget the Exorcist. I just saw the most terrifying sight in the history of mankind. I flipped over to Baseball Tonight before the bottom of the second, and I saw not one, but two of Steve Phillips. Somebody just gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon. I'm begging you.
10:42- If you want to understand why the Dodgers have the least power of any contending team, you need only to read this next sentence: Their cleanup hitter is 39-year-old Jeff Kent.
10:45- 104-year-old Kent draws a leadoff walk. You never want to walk the leadoff hitter, unless the hitter on deck is slightly useless Luis Gonzalez, who hasn't had a meaningful hit since 2001. Of course, that hit was a doozy. By the way, of the seemingly washed-up 2006 Arizona Diamondbacks outfielders, I think the Mets won that lottery by taking Green over Gonzalez, who just struck out.
10:52- El Duque throws a fastball clocked in the low 90s, and his curveball reaches down as low as 65 MPH. How do you hit that? Don't ask James Loney, he can't, and he just struck out looking on the curveball to end the second.
10:55- The reason the Mets have been struggling: A seagull left some droppings on Oliver Perez's glove on Friday. This from Kevin Burkhardt. Thank you for that update. I like the guy, but I want to trade him for Erin Andrews. I would probably trade my entire family for Erin Andrews though.
10:59- Wright hits a ball to the warning track in a bid to hit a HR in 5 straight games, but it didn't have the distance, and the Mets go down quietly in the 3rd, still holding a 2-0 lead.
11:01- Oh great, Larry King is in the crowd. What number wife is he on now?
11:03- Raphael Furcal is up with two down in the second. I'm a big Furcal fan, even though he used to play for the Braves. I remember a few years ago Furcal pushed a bunt down the third base line and got it past Ty Wigginton for the rare bunt double. It was incredible. This at-bat wasn't though, and Furcal grounds out to end the inning.
11:06- This kid in the Verizon FiOS commercial freaks me out. His head is way too big for his body.
11:08- Leadoff double for Delgado. He apparently makes it a point to only get hits with the bases empty.
11:09- Jose Valentin's up, after getting a bunt single his first time up. He just came back from a potentially serious knee injury, so the bunt is a good sign for him.
11:11- Carlos Gomez drives in Carlos Delgado with a bloop single to right. 3-0 Mets. In related news, the Mets are working out a trade for Carlos Quentin of the Diamondback and Carlos Guillen of the Tigers to set a major-league record for the most guys named Carlos on a single baseball team.
11:16- If Juan Pierre gets a hit, I'm going to smother him with his own fat paychecks. Ok, he didn't, but he walked. That's unusual enough in itself. He only had 9 walks in 258 ABs so far this year. That's what you want from your $45 million man, a .299 OBP.
11:19- Ok, Pierre just stole second, I'll shut up now.
11:21- A questionable check-swing call goes against the Mets, and a single past David Wright leads to the first hit and the first run for the Dodgers. Bottom of the fourth, 3-1 Mets, nobody out, and Martin just stole second. (P.S. I'd like to thank Gary Cohen for consistently reminding viewers that there was, in fact, a no-hitter in progress. I know it'll probably never happen in my lifetime, but come on, Gary, don't stack the odds even more against us.)
11:26- An RBI double by Luis Gonzalez scores Russell Martin from second, and that means two things. First, it's now 3-2, and second, I'm stopping this liveblog before I do any more damage.
Yes, it's stupid for me to think I affect how the Mets play, but hey, that's how I roll.
