Big Blue Begins Roster Cuts

       The New York Giants are preparing for the final roster deadline as they have announced that DE Matt Broha and DT Marcus Thomas have been cut by the team, according to a report by Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger. The deadline for the final 53-man roster is tonight at 9:00 p.m. Garafolo also reported that "Word is Adewale Ojomo has made the active roster." However, New York has not made that official. Garafolo also said that he thinks CB/KR Laron Scott will make the practice squad, not the active team. Of course, there will be more moves to come, and I will be here tomorrow morning, posting and analyzing the fully-cut roster as the Giants go for another title!

8/24/12-8/30/12 Weekly Recap

       The Mets have had a better week than they did last with a few callups and walkoffs. They started with a 3-game set at home with the Astros their last together as NL expansion mates. Houston started off the series on Friday with a 3-1 win. On Saturday R.A. Dickey pitched his way to a 17th victory as New York cruised to a 3-1 win. On Sunday an Ike Davis Homer gave the Mets a 1-0 lead going into the 9th but the 'Stros tied it there and could have taken the lead if not for a strong throw by recently called up Lucas Duda to the plate to throw out a runner at the plate. In the bottom of the ninth up came Davis again and he hit one right over the right field wall to win it 2-1 the final. After that the Mets had Monday off and were in Philadelphia on Tuesday to take on the Phillies who had now jumped ahead of New York in the standings. The game was tied at 5 in the top of the tenth before an Ike Davis RBI double a Lucas Duda RBI single and Kelly Shoppach 2-run shot gave New York a 9-5 lead they would hold on to. On Wednesday, Duda had risen to the occasion once again with a 2-run homer that proved to be the winner in a 3-2 Mets victory on a gritty outing by Matt Harvey. Today, Mike Baxter and Scott Hairston both hit solo shots, but Niese was not on his game as New York took the loss 3-2. They currently stand 4th in the NL East.           The Yankees started off the weekend against the Indians and on Friday CC Sabathia came off the DL the right way getting his 13th victory in a 3-1 Yankees win. However Cleveland struck back in the next game winning 3-1 themselves. On Sunday, Curtis Granderson hit his 200th career Homer as the Yankees took 2 out of 3 from the Indians. On Monday the Yanks were back at the Stadium to take on Toronto in a 3-game series. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt by Derek Lowe cost the Yankees the game as they lost 8-7 on Monday. On Tuesday a stellar comeback performance by Phil Hughes gave New York a 2-1 win. On Wednesday, however, CC was not as dominant as on Friday as the Yanks dropped this one 8-5. Also, Andruw Jones tweaked his fingers diving to make a catch on Wednesday, but he does not expect to miss any time.       The Giants played their 3rd preseason game Friday against the Bears. Eli Manning went 17-21 with 148 yards and a TD and RB David Wilson rushed for 49 yards and caught 2 passes for 26 yards which helped give Big Blue a lead into the 4th. The Giants were leading 17-13 until the Bears scored a touchdown at 8:22 in the 4th to give Chicago a 20-17 lead which would be the final score. On Thursday, while the Jets were at a leadership seminar, the G-Men were off on their final Preseason affair with the New England Patriots, a rematch of last year's Superbowl. It was a strange rematch as Tom Brady didn't play, and 17 Giants were injured. The starting offense for Big Blue was even worse. Manning went 4-8 in passing with 29 yards and a 14-yard sack through 4 series. However, the defense was spectacular. In the 4th quarter with the game tied at 3, Marcus Thomas picked up a fumble from by Pats QB Brian Hoyer, and that set up a game-winning FG at the 14-yard line by New York kicker Lawrence Tynes as the Jints finish up their Preseason with a 6-3 win. Hakeem Nicks saw his first action of the season, with a reception and 6 yards. This Wednesday, it all begins for real as the Giants host the rival Cowboys in the 2012 Kickoff game as Big Blue sets out to defend their title.       This week, the NHL met with their players again to discuss a new CBA. Today, Deputy Commish Bill Daly said that he is hopeful of the new proposal from the NHLPA possibly leading to getting closer to a new CBA as the current one expires September 15th. The league expects a response from the players to their counterproposal when they continue their meetings tomorrow morning.NYS2D Weekly MVP: Nick Swisher .391 BA 2 HR 7 RBI 5 BB

David, R.A. and Terry

Sandy Alderson recently said that he fully expects the team's only two all-stars, R.A. Dickey and David Wright, to be here not only for 2013 but also long-term. The team has options on both players for next season. David has expressed his love to play for the Mets for his whole career and I'm sure the Mets front office feels the same way. He is the franchise player and without a doubt one of the best Mets of all time. After letting Jose Reyes walk this past off-season, David is the one of two remaining players from 2006, along with Mike Pelfrey who had a few cups of coffee in 2006. David is a lifetime .302 hitter with 200 HR and a franchise most 803 RBI. He has made the all-star team six times, won two gold gloves, and two silver slugger awards. He holds the Mets franchise record in RBI, total bases, doubles, and runs. He grew up a Mets fan in Norfolk, Virginia and was drafted by them 38th overall in the 2001 MLB draft. He debuted in 2004 and has been the clubs 3rd basemen ever since. The Mets are the only franchise David has ever known and he wants to stay here and win with the Mets. With Dickey, he isn't in the same situation as Wright, but they both want to stay   and the front office wants them to stay. Dickey is having a career year this year, going 16-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 183 strikeouts, which currently leads the NL. He was an all-star for the first time this year and is thankful to the Mets organization for giving him a chance, and he has taken that chance and has really become the ace of this team. In his three years with the Mets he is 35-26 with a 2.98 ERA. Dickey feels comfortable in NY and loves it here. After a long and winding road to get to the majors, he is happy that the Mets have given him the opportunity to be a regular in their rotation and he has made the most of it. After being drafted by the Rangers 18th overall in the 1996 MLB draft. After a physical, it was discovered that he has no ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, the ligament you get Tommy John surgery on. Doctors tell him that he shouldn't be able to turn a doorknob without feeling pain. The Rangers were worried about it, so they only gave him a $75,000 signing bonus, after originally offering him $810,000. As a conventional pitcher Dickey threw a high-80's fastball, an occasional fringy breaking ball, and a forkball which he dubbed "The Thing." He was never able to succeed as a conventional pitcher, so he had to try something else. He didn't know that his forkball was really a hard knuckleball. Dickey started trying to develop the knuckler but really struggled with it. The Rangers, Brewers, Mariners and Twins all gave up on him and he landed with the Mets. In 2010 Dickey was the 1st player the Mets cut in spring training, but pitched great in AAA and earned made his way to the majors in May due to injuries and hasn't looked back every since. He feels loyal to this organization for giving him a chance and loves being in NY. He said he would love to pitch for the Mets long-term. Both of these players are great players to have on any team and they will really be able to help the Mets get everything turned around sooner than if they left the team. They also made the decision was to keep their other all-star, manager Terry Collins. There had been talk of Collins being fired but he was reassured that he wouldn't be and that he will also be the manager next season, the last year of his contract. I think Terry has done a wonderful job with the Mets in his two years here and deserves to be for years to come. I think he does a great job getting the most out of his players, which makes him a great manager and a great fit for this young Mets team.

Neil Diamond Pays the Price?!?

       Recently, Penn State Football has announced that they will no longer be playing Neil Diamond's classic "Sweet Caroline" during halftime at games. This is because of the line ".... touching me, touching you....." in the song. Lines like this will probably be avoided in any songs they play due to the recently-revaeled child abuse by longtime football coach Jerry Sandusky. In my opinion, it is just said that it has come to this for such a great tune. This song has been played at many sporting events throughout the years, including during the 7th-inning stretch at Red Sox games, and they even used to play it between the 2nd and 3rd period at Ranger games. However, Penn State is currently under so much scrutiny that they really don't have a choice. When you think about it, it is just depressing seeing what was once one of the greatest football programs in the country be in so much trouble they can't even play one of the most iconic songs in sports during their games!  

Swisher A Phony?!?

       Last Monday, Sports Illustrated announced the results of a player poll they held about the Biggest Phony in Baseball. Obviously, we all know who was going to be #1: Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez getting 26% of the vote. However, in second, with 14% of the vote, was his teammate, Nick Swisher in what shocked most people, including myself. Sure, Nick is smiling whenever you see a picture of him, but that doesn't mean it's fake. There have been many pictures that have been taken over 50 feet away where Swish wasn't even looking and he would be smiling like heck! Also, Nick has used his "real" positive energy to give back to others. In fact, just a few years ago, he recorded a charity album with a children's choir and donated all the profit to the charity. Overall, I think all other MLB players are "phonies" for voting for Swish and not themselves!

In case you were wondering, the rest of the Top 5:

3. Nyjer Morgan, Brewers - 11%

4. Brian Wilson, Giants - 9%

5. Brandon Phillips, Reds - 5%  

Terry Should Stay

       The New York Post reported Monday that Terry Collins will remain the manager of the Mets for the rest of this season and 2013, citing a team source. "There is no chance that he will be fired" the source told The Post. After all, Collins, age 63, is under contract through next season. New York management said that a successful season would be a 3rd-place finish. I agree with the Mets on this decision 100%. Although the pitching staff has been unreliable of late, and the offense has been shameful, recently going on a stretch of eight games without scoring more that 2 runs, he has lead this team to better than most people probably thought. Most writers and analysts had it set that New York would finish last in the East and be right down there with the Astros and Cubs for last in the NL. In fact, before the season, Sports Illustrated predicted that the Mets best-case scenario would to be in the playoff race until mid-June. However, Collins lead this team to an even better result than that, staying in the race until early after the All-Star break. It's obvious they've seriously slacked off since then, but Terry has done a fine job of managing this young club. In fact, this year he's done something the Mets should've done 2 1/2 years ago: he made Jason Bay a platoon player. Collins has finally noticed that Bay will never live up to his New York potential and has been switching off between players like Mike Baxter, recently-recalled Lucas Duda, and Jason. In all, Terry Collins has been a better manager this year than the Mets could've expected.

Rangers 2012-13 Season Preview

       If you were to ask every NHL fan who they think is most likely to win the Stanley Cup in 2013, most would probably say the New York Rangers. With the addition of Rick Nash and an All-Star goaltender in Henrick Lundquvist, who couldn't think they're gonna be there in May and June? However, with most thinking this, the pressure is on for the Blueshirts. As with any team that plays in New York City, this team will be very-well followed, especially since they're many people's Cup favorites. Most people, including myself, believe that this team can win it all this coming year or the next, if not both. However, one of the best trading GM's in Hockey, Glen Sather has done a great job of getting Nash and keeping the young stars in Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, and Derek Stepan to keep the young swagger of this team alive. However, with getting a great forward like Nash and losing two forwards in Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov might shake up the lines a little bit, but I don't think it will mean much. Of course, it will be extremely tough for Lundquvist to repeat what he did last season, I believe the Rangers will win the Atlantic and will go at least as far as they did last year, if not farther.

"Wait, the Red Sox did WHAT?!?"

       The Boston Red Sox have just helped turn the LA Dodgers into the Miami Heat of Baseball. On Saturday, the Sox gave away 3 of their top-paid stars: Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez. They also got Nick Punto and cash from Boston. The Red Sox got back Dodgers 1B James Loney, and 4 prospects, 2 of them to be named later. With the completion of this trade, LA now has an All-Star-calibar player at 4 of the 9 infield positions and a more-stacked pitching staff. With a lineup like this, how could you NOT have them as your World Series favorite? On the Red Sox side, it seems like they are just throwing a lost season down the drain. After the trade, Boston shut down DH David Ortiz after only playing 1 game after coming off the DL. Bobby Valentine will most likely be fired after this season, and the Sox will start all over again next year. Sure all 3 of those players stirred quite a bit of controversy, but could anyone have IMAGINED how successful this club could've been if they would've built around those 3? Of course, Carl Crawford won't play another game this season, and Beckett and A-Gon aren't having the season they dreamed about, these 3 will help the Dodgers be successful this season and well into the future.

Duda returning

The Mets have announced that Lucas Duda will rejoin the big league team after demoting on July 24 to AAA Buffalo. Manager Terry Collins said that Duda will play mostly LF and some 1B when Ike Davis needs a day off. Duda hit .260 with 3 homers, 18 RBI in 96 at-bats during his demotion. He played 18 games in LF, 4 games in RF, and 2 games at 1B while in AAA. Before being demoted by the Mets, Duda had gone 2-his-last-22 at the plate and had been playing subpar defense in RF. With Duda set to be back in the starting lineup everyday, he provides the Mets a much needed power threat, as they scored more than 2 runs today after going 7 games with 2 runs or less. Duda worked on spreading out his legs more while in the minors. In 88 games this year for the Mets, Duda has 12 homers, 44 RBI, 37 runs, a .335 OBP, and a .241 batting average. Duda still has a lot of potential and could be a big piece for the Mets in the future if he can make up for his poor defense and hit a little bit better. In 2011 he hit .292 with 10 homers and 50 RBI in only 301 at-bats. The Mets believe he can be a good player here for a long time and really be a fixture for this Mets team looking toward the future. The Mets will make a corresponding roster move prior to Sunday's rubber game against the Houston Astros.

8/17/12-8/23/12 Weekly Recap

       The Mets have had a most different week with offense that's slacking like heck and a loss of their "Number 1" starter. It started with a 3-game set against the best team in Baseball, the Washington Nationals. A Michael Moorse slam gave D.C. a win on Friday, but the Mets countered the next day after a homer by Ike Davis and a stellar performance by Jon Niese gave New York a 2-0 victory. A rain-delayed Sunday matinee gave the Nats the edge, however, as they took 2 out of 3. Then the Amazin's headed back home to take on a no-name Colorado Rockies squad. Despite a stellar no-decision by R. A. Dickey on Monday and having leads in all 3 games, the Rocks took all of the first 3 affairs. Johan Santana was scheduled to start the series finale on Thursday but was placed on the 15-day DL after an MRI on Wednesday, and looks like he will sit out the rest of the season. So, Sandy Alderson brought up pitching prospect Collin McHough to take Johan's place 4 weeks to the day that Matt Harvey made his debut replacing Santana in Arizona and had 11 K's, setting a new club record. McHough had 9 K's through 7, good enough for 2nd on that list, and held Colorado scoreless. However, he came out with a ND and the Mets lost 2-0 and were swept by the Rockies in a 4-game set at Citi Field for the second year in a row. Tomorrow, New York begins a weekend series with the Houston Astros, the worst team in Baseball.
       The Yankees have had a week of red-hot captains non-Yankee type offense. They started off the week right on Friday when Nick Swisher had 2 solo shots that gave the Yankees a 6-4 win over Boston. However, the next day, David Phelps pitched brilliantly, but one mistake to Adrian Gonzalez cost him the game, and the Sox had redemption 4-1. On Sunday, Ichiro had his 1st multi-HR game as a Bomber and gave New York the win 4-1. Then, the Yankees went to Chicago for a 3-game set against Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Chris Sale and the White Sox. Although Derek Jeter homered in all 3 games, something he's never done before, New York was out-deuled, getting swept by Chicago. Also, on Thursday, New York placed starter Ivan Nova on the 15-day DL due to inflammation in his right rotator cuff. Tomorrow, the Yankees get back ace C.C. Sabathia as he will face the Indians in Cleveland.
       Last Saturday, the Giants looked to take the Metlife Cup from the "hosting" New York Jets. Starting QB Eli Manning completed 7/14 for 62 yards, and Lawrence Tynes had 2 field goals, but it was the defensive line that took the show sacking Sanchez and Tebow 6 times and one by the safety, Will Hill, who I think has the coolest name on the squad. For the 2nd straight week, rookie David Wilson led the team in rushing with 26 yards. Tomorrow, the starters will take the whole show as G-Men play Week 3 against the Bears.
        Additionally, the NHL and the NHLPA met yet again on Wednesday and earlier today, and not to much progress was made. The meetings ended early today and were totally cancelled yesterday, and now a lockout seems like a possible outcome.

NYS2D WEEKLY MVP: Derek Jeter- .375 AVG. 4 HR 4 RBI 7 R 1 BB

Shutting down Johan

The Mets have placed LHP Johan Santana (6-9, 4.85) back on the 15-day DL with back inflammation. It looks like Johan will not pitch again this season. Since his no-hitter on June 1st, the first in Mets history, Johan has not pitched effectively. He came into the season just hoping that he would start the year with the Mets. He didn't pitch at all in 2011, coming off major shoulder surgery. There were no guarantees that he would ever pitch again. He pitched like an ace for the first two months of the season. After the no-hitter he had a 2.38 ERA. Then he threw the no-hitter and has struggled ever since. Since "NO-HAN," he is 3-7 with a 8.27 ERA. The Mets have to shut him down and protect the investment they made for next season. They owe him $25 million next season and they need him to pitch as well as possible. Johan has not been struggling because he is not a good pitcher anymore. His changeup is still one of the best in baseball. He can still get people out with his fastball and slider. Johan is struggling only because he is tired. Johan just needs to rest his arm, take some time off, and come back and make sure he's ready to compete for the mets next season. Johan is still a leader of this team. He is one of the few veterans the Mets have and he knows how to win games. The Mets were successful in the first half for a lot of reasons, and Johan Santana was certainly one of them. He is a great mentor for the young pitchers the Mets have coming up. Prospect Collin McHugh will make his MLB debut on Thursday, taking Johan's spot in the starting rotation. McHugh is 25 years old and scouts describe him as a pitcher similar to Dillon Gee. He was 5-5 with a 2.41 ERA this year for AA Binghamton and 2-4 with a 3.39 ERA for AAA Buffalo.

Mark Sanchez

Although he is yet to score a TD this preseason, Mark Sanchez has looked fantastic! The offensive line has made him look bad. People are saying he has been struggling, but he is 13/17 so far this preseason. Although Mark looked bad on the pick-six, only Wayne Hunter can be blamed for that. Wayne Hunter is awful. Singlehandedly he got Mark and Tim Tebow sacked seven times. That is just awful. The Jets won't have a successful season with Wayne Hunter as a starting tackle. Wayne has to go. Last year Sanchez got beat up and that made him think he had to make throws that he didn't have to, that eventually ended up being picked off. His struggles last season had nothing to do with him, his leadership, his skills, his pocket awareness, his attitude, his work ethic or anything like that. Mark Sanchez had a bad year because the offensive line couldn't block anyone. Also, people were saying that Sanchez didn't have a good work ethic. That statement couldn't have been farther than the truth. Mark works hard and was the victim of things happening around him. Sanchez was blamed for Holmes being a baby, Sanchez was blamed for the awful blocking by the line, Sanchez was blamed for the sub-par defense for pete's sake! Mark was thrown under the bus for no reason which wasn't fair. He is a hard worker and a great kid and he will put it all together and become a very good QB for the Jets. Mark's passes have been spot on. Spot on! He looks like he is finally putting it all together. People forget that he left college a year early and only started 10 games as a college QB. You can't expect Mark Sanchez to be Joe Namath in his first few seasons after barely playing in college. Mark is putting it together this year and he will produce this year and put up very good numbers. People forget that he is missing two of his three best receivers and still having a great preseason. I also think Shonn Greene is going to have a great year and really breakout. Greene will definitely help Mark like back in their rookie year, when no QB in the league was benefitted by the play action more than Sanchez. He is this team's QB of the present and future. He is The Sanchise.

Shoppach Trade

The Mets completed their trade for Kelly Shoppach with the Red Sox today, sending RHP Pedro Beato to Boston. I thought that Beato had a bright future, I really like his stuff. I do feel that trading him needed to be done after his comments about Josh Thole. Blaming Josh for not blocking a ball on a horrendous pitch that led to the Nationals score the winning run? Sorry Pedro, but first of all that pitch was all your fault. Second of all, this Mets team, and no team, will tolerate pointing fingers. That is not what baseball, or any team sport, is about. You win as a team and you lose as a team. Beato appeared in seven games this year for the Mets and posted a 10.38 ERA. I suppose that is Thole's fault too right? Terry Collins is definitely not the manager who will allow any of that crazy nonsense Beato brought into the clubhouse. TC knows more than anyone in baseball that it takes all 25 guys on a team to win, and all 25 guys on a team to lose. It's never just one person's fault. The Mets needed to put their foot down and make this deal before that negative attitude started to rub off on the other players. Beato will be perfect for the Red Sox, they all hate each other over there anyway. Shoppach will make his Mets debut tonight against the Cincinatti Reds, catching Matt Harvey in his 5th MLB start. Homer Bailey goes tonight for the Reds, who have taken the first two games of this three game series, as the Mets try to salvage the finale. Shoppach has 5 home runs, 16 RBI, and a .250 average in 148 at bats with the Red Sox this year. In 2008 he hit 21 homers for the Indians, so he has shown that he can hit for some power, something the Mets have been lacking.

8/13/12 Recap

       Last night, the Yankees were back at The Stadium for the first of four games against the Texas Rangers. In the top of the first, Nelson Cruz delivered with an RBI broken-bat single that brought home Elvis Andrus and make it 1-0 Rangers before Texas starter Ryan Dempster took the mound. In the 3rd, David Murphy made it 2-0 with one swing, a homer to center. When the bottom of the inning came along, the Yankees loaded the bases for Nick Swisher who got his 200th career homer with a BANG with his 6th career grand slam, and New York took a 4-2 they would never relinquish. Starter David Phelps went 5 strong innings, only allowing the 2 early runs and 7 hits. In the top of the sixth, newly-acquired Derek Lowe pitched 4 innings of relief  and got the save as the Yanks took the victory 8-2. With Swisher's grand slam, the Yankees now have 7 players with 200+ HRs tying the 2008 Yanks for the most by a single team. However, Curtis Granderson already had 197 homers.

8/9/12 Recap

       Last night, the Mets and Chris Young looked to take a game from the Marlins while Gary, Keith and Ron and the rest of the SNY crew were doing the game up in Citi Field's Pepsi Porch. With 2 out and nobody on in the top of the first, former Met Jose Reyes hit one right by the SNY booth in right field to extend his hit streak to 26 games and make the score 1-0 Fish. Later in the inning, there was 1 on for the newest and youngest Met killer, Giancarlo Stanton, and he did what he does best: hit a bomb into the Party City Deck, his first homer since his injury to make the score 3-0 Miami. This was the score until the top of the fifth on a 2-run single by Carlos Lee and another 2-run blast for Stanton made it 7-0 Marlins, and the Fish would never look back as they took the win 13-0. Reyes's 26-game hit streak is the longest streak for a reigning batting champion since Yankee great Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 straight games in 1941.
       Speaking of the Yankees, their fans were in for a good one when they tuned in to their matchup against Detroit last night as CC Sabathia went up against former Marlin Anibal Sanchez, who since coming to Detroit is yet to win a decision. However, the pitching was not the main part of the matchup as this one was a slugfest! New York got off to a quick start in the 1st with an RBI single by Eric Chavez that scored Swisher and a single by Curtis Granderson that scored Teixeira and made the score 2-0 Yanks. In the top of the third, Granderson reached the 4 RBI mark with a 3-run shot that made the score 5-0 Yankees. However, Detroit would not go down easy, making the score 8-7 in the 7th, knocking Sabathia out of the game. The Yankees countered with 2 in the top of the eighth to put it away as the Bombers took the win 12-8.

8/6/12 Recap & Apologies

       First of all, I would like to say that I'm sorry to all of my readers for not doing my daily post over the past few days, for I was on vacation and had no device or computer to blog on. Now, on to last night's recap.
       Last night, the Yankees flew to Detroit and took on "Big Bad" Justin Verlander and the Tigers. In the bottom of the second, Prince Fielder hit a big fly on a liner to center, and it was 1-0 Big Cats. 2 innings later, Miguel Cabrera hit a 450-foot bomb into center to make it 2-0 Tigers. In the top of the fifth, RBI singles by Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano tied the game at 2. After that, the Tigers never looked back scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by former Marlin Omar Infante and Austin Jackson and a sac fly by Andy Dirks made it 5-2 Detroit, and they would go on to win 7-2. Tigers starter Justin Verlander had 14 strikeouts and got his first win in his last 5 starts against New York.
       The Mets had the day off, but today, they look to jump back into the race as they begin a 3-game set Reyes and the new-look Miami Marlins to begin a 6-game home stand at Citi Field.

Harvey struggles

Matt Harvey didn't pitch as well as he did in his 1st 2 MLB starts, but he did impress. He gave up 5 runs in 5 innings, but it could've been much worse. He was able to limit the damage very well, and showed once again why he is a star in the making. I love watching this kid and can't wait for Wheeler either. They are both going to be very good pitchers for the Mets for a long time. The future looks bright for the Mets rotation.

8/2/12 Recap

       Yesterday afternoon, the Mets looked to take their 3rd from the Giants in the finale of their 4-game series against Barry Zito. Zito retired the first two batters, but after 2 straight walks by David Wright and Scott Hairston and Daniel Murphy was hit by a pitch, Jason Bay hit a soft single into left that brought home 2 runs, and the Mets were on the board early. The next batter was Ronny Cedeno, and he doubled off the glove of Melky Cabrera and brought home another 2 runs, and after the first it was 4-0 New York. In the 2nd, David Wright hit an RBI single that scored Andres Torres and made it a 5-run margin. The Giants' only run came in the bottom of the fourth when Hunter Pence recorded his first RBI as a Giant with a sac fly that brought home Melky Cabrera and make it a 5-1 game. In the top of the fifth, Daniel Murphy brought home Torres with a single into right, and Ronny Cedeno singled home Hairston, and it was 7-1 Metropolitans. In the top of the seventh, Ronny Cedeno doubled to left that scored Hairston and Murphy. It was Cedeno's 4th and 5th RBIs of the day tying a career high as the Mets took the victory 9-1. Mets starter Chris Young snapped a 5-start losing streak, going 7 innings allowing only 1 run.

8/1/12 Recap

       Yesterday afternoon, the Yankees and newest acquisition Casey McGhee looked to avoid a sweep of Baltimore at the Stadium. In the bottom of the first, New York got off to a quick start on a solo shot by Curtis Granderson (his 29th of the year) and a sacrifice fly by Andruw Jones made the score 2-0 early. However, the O's got a run back in the 2nd on an RBI groundout by former Met Endy Chavez which made it 2-1. In the bottom of the inning, 2 singles by Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher brought home another 2 runs as it was now 4-1 Yankees. In the bottom of the 3rd, Jayson Nix hit an RBI ground-rule double an 2-run single by Derek Jeter and a grand slam by Robby Cano brought home 7 in the inning as the score became 11-1, and the final score was 12-3. Joba Chamberlain made his first appearance since last June and allowed 2 runs in an inning an 2/3 of work.
       The Mets looked to take another game from the Giants in a crazy game in San Francisco. Ruben Tejada lead off the game with a solo home run, his first in almost 700 at-bats and the score was 1-0 New York after the 1st. In the top of the 2nd, Jordany Valdespin grounded into a force out that brought home a run to make it 2-0. This was the score until the bottom of the sixth when Buster Posey hit a solo home run that made it a 1-run game. The Metropolitans never trailed, but the left 16 runners on base and had plenty of opportunities to extend their lead, but New York couldn't get that big hit as they had 9 hits, 8 walks, and a hit batsman but only scored 2 runs as they won it by the score of 2-1 "...on a night where they should've scored about 15 runs" as put by SNY announcer Gary Cohen. Mets starter Jonathan Niese went 7 innings and only allowed the 1 run.  

7/31/12 Recap

       Last night, the Yankees seeked revenge after last night's 1-run loss to the Orioles. After a 1st inning by Ivan Nova that took less than a minute, New York scored 5 in the bottom of the first on a Derek Jeter double, a Curtis Granderson RBI single, a Robby Cano 2-run shot, an RBI fielder's choice by Ichiro and an RBI single by Eric Chavez that gave the Yanks a 5-0 lead. However, Baltimore had 2 men out in the top of the second but had an RBI double from Mark Reynolds, a 2-run single by Omar Quintanilla, and Chris Davis's first career grand slam capped off a 7-run inning that officially made the game a slugfest and gave the O's a 2-run lead. Baltimore scored 4 more runs before the game was over and would take the 7-5 win.
       Meanwhile, the Mets looked to extend their winning streak against Tim Lincecum and the Giants. In the 2nd, Justin Turner doubled home Scott Hairston and give New York an early 1-0 lead. However, the Giants got 2 runs back on an RBI fielder's choice by Brandon Crawford and took the lead. In the 6th, Marco Scutaro grounded into a double play that brought home a run and put the game away as the Gigantes took the 4-1 victory. Matt Harvey only allowed 2 earned runs, giving him a Big Leagur ERA of 1.50.