Reyes and Wright will represent New York in Midsummer Classic, but what about Pelfrey?
Thanks to a late surge in the online polls, David Wright will represent the National League as the starting third baseman in the All-Star Game. He will be joined by teammate Jose Reyes, who made the All-Star Game as a reserve behind fellow arch-rival Hanley Ramirez from the Florida Marlins.
Although it is nice to see Reyes and Wright back in the Midsummer Classic, it is unfortunate to see that Mike Pelfrey was snubbed from the game despite his dominant start to the season. Pelfrey had already amassed ten wins before the Mets reached the statistical midpoint in the season, which ranks him near the top of the league among starting pitchers.
Pelfrey’s reliable spot in the rotation has shown stability, which the Mets’ rotation hasn’t featured in some time. Along with Pelfrey, Johan Santana had a decent first half along with the surprise of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Hisanori Takahashi did a great job of stepping up from the bullpen to start.
The Mets will be looking to re-insert disgraced starter Oliver Perez back into the rotation once he returns from his injury, and they will be forced to make a decision on John Maine sooner or later. Oliver Perez has been making rehab starts with the St. Lucie Mets, along with improving outfielder Carlos Beltran. Beltran is expected to return to the lineup just before or after the All-Star Break.
Mets barely lose, but first place Braves drop third straight
As the Mets were in the process of losing their series finale against the Detroit Tigers, I was in the broadcast booth at Cooperstown All-Star Village. I was the color commentator for the Week 2 Championship Game at All-Star Village alongside John Horne, who handled the play-by-play duties. To watch the entire game, complete with pre-game conducted by yours truly, click here.
With that, I was unable to witness the Mets’ 6-5 loss at home, but I’ll provide a few notes. Starter Hisanori Takahash had a rough start, allowing a run early on and then some more later before he departed in the fifth. This doesn’t bode well for Takahashi’s already unlikely dream of remaining a starter in the Mets’ organization. The Mets see him as a reliever, and it may only be a matter of time before he is back in the bullpen. Takahasi was a decent reliever early in the season before he was inserted into the starting rotation last month.
Takahasi may remain in the rotation for longer than expected, however, as it is believed that the Mets will be shutting down ailing right hander John Maine. Maine struggled through his first few starts of the season as he was unable to touch 90 miles per hour on the radar gun. He found himself on the disabled list with arm weakness and has never returned since.
Tonight was a great chance for the Mets to leapfrog the Atlanta Braves and take sole possession of first place, but the Mets have won so many games lately that it was no surprise that they finally had an off day. Thankfully for the Mets, Atlanta has struggled as of late and the Braves have dropped three straight.
The Mets will begin a series with the Twins tomorrow night at Citi Field.
Beltran inches closer to return as Mets must choose between Pagan or Frenchy
Angel Pagan could not have chosen a better night for a near-cycle.
Just hours after general manager Omar Minaya announced that star center fielder Carlos Beltran is improving and will begin rehab games soon, Pagan nearly hit for the cycle. Pagan, along with Jeff Francoeur, said they aren’t worried about what will happen to the defensive alignment in the outfield upon Beltran’s return. Beltran is expected to return to his normal center field position, while Jerry Manuel will be forced to make decisions on whether he will use Francoeur or Pagan more often in right field.
This situation has left me scratching my head a little bit, but not too much. I’m surprised Jason Bay’s job seems so secure, considering his mediocre season thus far. I understand the team has invested a lot of money into him and he still has half the season to live up to some of the expectations, but he really hasn’t shown that his position on the team should be etched in stone.
One way the Mets may handle this situation is by inserting Pagan in the starting lineup in right field and then putting Francoeur in during the late innings for defense. Francoeur is known for having a great arm and tends to leads the league in outfield assists year after year.
Minaya said that Beltran will begin his rehab assignments with the St. Lucie Mets, and the team will monitor his progress and make decisions about his future based on his performance.
Surging Mets complete back-to-back sweeps, will take on Yankees tonight
Just a week ago, everyone panicked because the Mets were about to hit the road. The Mets hadn’t won a road series since 2009 and ranked near the bottom in any possible statistic that had to do with playing on the road.
A week later, the Mets are coming off of back-to-back sweeps of two American League teams, the Orioles and Indians. These two teams may not be the best teams, but it is important for the Mets to beat up on the bad teams if they hope to compete down the stretch. The Mets have now won seven straight games, and 11 of their last 12. Their only loss since June 3rd was in a doubleheader, which is always difficult to sweep considering the variations in the lineups.
The latest turning point for the Mets was arguably when they were playing the Marlins at CitiField earlier this month, when they not only swept the Marlins, but they also cut loose some of their dead weight in Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Luis Castillo — at least for a little while as they rehabilitate their injuries in St. Lucie, Florida and elsewhere.
The difference in this team is evident when you look at how the starting rotation has evolved. Veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey as well as Japanese newcomer Hisanori Takahasi have stepped up and submitted some very nice starts. Dickey is proving to be a reliable arm in the rotation, which could be helpful down the stretch. Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, and Jon Niese have remained consistent and really haven’t had any terrible starts in at least a month.
Not only has the rotation improved dramatically, but the lineup has been looking fantastic as well. Jose Reyes dug himself out of his early-season hole and is batting .371 with three home runs, 11 RBIs, and eight stolen bases in his last 23 games. In that stretch, the Mets are 18-5 and have climbed their way near the top of the division. Currently, the Mets trail the Braves by only a half a game.
Tonight the Mets will hope to continue their recent success when they travel to Yankee Stadium to take on the Yankees, who the Mets won a series against earlier this year.
Analysis of Gary, Keith and Ron after four and a half seasons
As many Mets fans know, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling have been calling Mets games from the SNY booth for about four and a half seasons. They have received positive reviews from all across the world of baseball and their familiarity with the franchise makes the home fans love them that much more.
Gary Cohen, who spent many years as the Mets’ play-by-play guy for New York’s 660 WFAN radio, was able to make a smooth transition to TV when he was asked to do play-by-play for SNY. He really didn’t need to do much in his transition, as he kept his famous “Outta Here!” home run call as well as many of his other usual phrases without any problem. His smooth, naturally deep voice along with his quick and informative insight compiles to make him one of the top play-by-play broadcasters. Additionally, he (and the rest of his colleagues in the booth) are great at maintaining impartiality. Although his voice gets excited when a flashy play is made by a Mets player, he remains critical of the Mets when necessary and never covers anything up.
The thing about his voice the separates him from the rest is evident when you listen to other broadcasters. Yankees’ play-by-play brodacaster for YES, Michael Kay, has such a raspy voice that he leaves me scratching my head considering voice quality is very important in this field. ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller has difficulty pronouncing foreign names and also puts the accent on the wrong syllable, which gets very annoying.
Moving to the next seat in the booth, occupied by former Mets’ first baseman Keith Hernandez, a lot of inappropriate behavior occurs throughout the course of a long season as the dog days begin approaching. Hernandez is often found sucking on his favorite lollypops or making a remark that could best be listed under the “Example” section of the dictionary’s definition of “Non-Sequitor”. Earlier this season, he was even found asleep in the middle of a game.
On the brighter side of things for Hernandez, he is excellent when it comes to dissecting hitters and their problems at the plate. Hernandez will often include examples from his playing days to add to his points, which can be helpful for viewers. The best thing that Hernandez has going for him right now is that he has been a fan favorite since his playing days. Many fans believe the team should retire his number (17).
In the third spot in the booth, Ron Darling continues to impress. Since joining the Mets in the booth, he has written books and has made his way up the ladder, landing a job with TBS to broadcast select games during the MLB season. Darling has won an Emmy Award as “Best Sports Analyst” for his work on Mets broadcasts. One of the things that separates Darling from the rest of the broadcasters who are former players is that he actually attended college. He not only attended any college, but he went to Yale, an Ivy League school that is known as one of the most prestigious schools in the world.
All in all, Cohen, Hernandez, and Darling have exceeded expectations, especially starting anew with the new network in 2006. There really haven’t been any controversies aside from a small mistake by Hernandez when he said that women don’t belong in a dugout. This wasn’t much of a surprise though, since Hernandez is known for blatant honesty.
Finally, this talented group of broadcasters have shown they really care by creating their own non-profit organization aimed at helping those in need. The foundation’s website can be found at the following link: http://www.pitchinforagoodcause.org/ and fans can contribute to the foundation through their website.