Yardbarker: Carlos Delgado

Phillies can't overcome Perez's pitching, Rollins' benching, fall into second place

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:02:14 -0500

With no help from a benched MVP, the Phillies offense completely wasted a solid pitching performance. Jamie Moyer pitched 7 strong innings and gave up only one run, but the Phillies couldn't solve Oliver Perez, who pitched 7 and 2/3rds innings, struck out 12 and also gave up only one run. The Mets rallied to win in the 8th inning when Carlos Delgado doubled in a pair of runs in the 8th inning off of J.C. Romero, dropping the Phillies into second place after the 3-1 loss. Jimmy Rollins was a late scratch from the game, getting benched for showing up late to the game. Rollins got to the game one hour before it started, breaking Charlie Manuel's rule about showing up on time. Click the link for more on the game, including highlights.

Mets overtake division with series win over Phillies

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:28 -0500

Carlos Delgado's two-run double broke an eighth-inning tie, and Oliver Perez struck out a career-high 12, as the Mets dumped the Phillies 3-1 to take over sole possession of first in the National League East. On a day that ended with the Mets making it their division to lose, Jimmy Rollins was scratched for showing up late to the game, according to multiple reports. That's twice this season that the reigning MVP has been benched for disciplinary reasons. Are you...

Mets Bounce Back

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:36:44 -0500

Welcome back, Billy Wagner. There were no ninth-inning meltdowns, fireworks or ulcers in last night's game. The Mets shrugged off Tuesday's loss by defeating the Phillies, 6-3, so routinely it seemed like an old Seattle Pilots–Washington Senators matchup. They're back in a tie for first place, and have an 8-4 record against the Phillies so far this season. Jose Reyes had the big blast, hitting a three-run homer (his 11th of the season) off Ryan Madson in the sixth, breaking a 3-3 tie. The Mets scored two runs in the first when Brett Myers walked four batters in a row and Marlon Anderson grounded out to drive in a run. They added a run in the third on a Damion Easley infield single (Easley had three infield hits, after getting hit by two pitches the night before?he's due to get struck by lightning today). Carlos Delgado (two walks, HBP, single) moved up in the order, batting cleanup. He was so happy that he logged an extra-long entry in his diary, even including a few smiley faces. And he taunted Carlos Beltran about it the whole game. Speaking of Beltran, why was he bunting in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and no outs? Swing the bat, Carlos. You're just leaving it to your teammates to get the job done (in this case, Robinson Cancel, who grounded out without getting a run home). In all, the Mets left 13 runners on base, and were three for 13 with runners in scoring position. They left the bases loaded in the third and seventh innings, and stranded runners on second and third in the eighth. They could have easily blown this game wide open. And Marlon Anderson looks completely dumbfounded at the plate, and he's so lost out in left field, on one fly ball he pulled a map out of his back pocket and asked a fan for directions to the ball. It was a nice, solid comeback game for John Maine. He went seven innings (for the first time since May 7th), giving up three runs, six hits, two walks and struck out five. His control was much better than in recent starts, as he attacked the strike zone all game. Myers, on the other hand, was all over the place, having no idea where the strike zone was. He only lasted five innings, walking five and giving up three runs. Maybe he was called up from the minors too soon?he's only 27, after all. Scott Schoeneweis and Joe Smith pitched a scoreless eighth. And Billy Wagner returned, putting the Mets bullpen world back on its axis. He threw a one-two-three ninth, and he and Delgado combined on a nice play at first to get Shane Victorino for the first out of the inning. The two teams are back at Shea this afternoon at 12:10 for the rubber match of the series. Jamie Moyer takes on Oliver Perez.

Five reasons the Mets WILL make the playoffs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:49:23 -0500

Yesterday, I brought you five of the reasons the Mets wouldn't make the postseason in 2008. Here, now, are the five reasons I think the Mets will make it to the playoffs and contend for the World Series in '08. Johan Santana and Aaron Heilman are...

Phillies-Mets Series Preview

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:30:06 -0500

Tonight starts the biggest series of the year for both the Phillies and the Mets, as they face off in Flushing for a pivotal three game set. They come in to tonight's game tied for first place in the National League East with matching records of 53-46. The Mets are riding a hot streak of 8-2 in their last 10 games, while the Phillies are an uninspiring 5-5 during that span. The winner of this series will solidify themselves atop the NL East by at least two games, if not three. The loser could ultimately find themselves in third place in the division, as the upstart Florida Marlins loom just a game back of first place. Despite being shut out last night by the fourth place Braves, the Marlins are a team that could make a run at any moment. Pitching tonight, and making his Phillies debut, is Joe Blanton (0-0, 0.00 ERA), recently acquired from the Oakland Athletics. He will face off against Mets ace Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10 ERA). Santana's record is not what you expected it would be when he was traded to the Mets from the Minnesota Twins this past off-season, and he has not pitched as well as expected, but that record is in large part due to a lack of run support. Over the past thirty innings, Santana has an ERA of 3.30, 25 strikeouts, and only 12 walks, but only one win. Offense, however, has not been a problem during their recent hot streak. Over the past 10 games, the Mets have scored 52 runs, while only giving up 29. Over the past week, third baseman David Wright has two home runs and six RBIs while batting .385. First baseman Carlos Delgado is hitting at an incredible .615 clip with one home run and five RBIs. It appears the Mets are unstoppable right now. However, if you examine the numbers a little closer, the Mets are actually human after all. Despite having a tremendous month, the Mets' pitching has been roughed up over the past four games. Of the 29 runs given up over the past 10 games, 25 of them were given up over the last four games alone. Mike Pelfrey, who has five wins over his last 40 innings with a 2.27 ERA, gave up five runs in seven innings in his last start. John Maine only went 4.2 innings his last start, giving up five runs with five walks. In Santana's last game he gave up five runs in only four innings, an ERA of 11.25. Despite winning eight of their last 10 games, the Mets are beatable and if the Phils' bats can come alive like we all know they can, then the Phillies should be able to take this series. Outfieler Pat Burrell is batting .417 over his last 12 at bats with two home runs. Chase Utley is batting .455 over his past 11 at bats and Ryan Howard is batting .308 with one home run and three RBIs over the past week. It is going to be the pitching that decides this series. The Phillies success will hinge on the performances of Blanton and Brett Myers, who is returning from a stint in AAA to face the Mets on Wednesday. Both pitchers have struggled this year, but will be the key to the Phillies success if they hope to make the playoffs this season. Any Phillies-Mets series is exciting and definitely worth watching, but this week's series could set the tone for the rest of the season for both teams. Stay tuned…

MLB: Mets-Phillies Race Heating Up

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:20:36 -0500

Don't look now but the streaking New York Mets have not only climbed back in to the National League East pennant race, but have forged a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies. The slumping Phillies now have a three game set with the Mets starting Tuesday with first place on the line. Philadelphia has been fading fast as they have lost 20 of their last 34 games. www.rawsportsblog.com

The Top Ten Reasons for the Rebirth of Carlos Delgado

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:12:28 -0500

Who IS this man? Carlos Delgado is playing like the Mets' front office is threatening to trade him to the Nationals. His average is nearing .270; his home runs are piling up faster than seagull droppings on Staten Island; he's finally going opposite field; and most important of all, he isn't slowing down to second guess [...]

The Top Ten Reasons for the Rebirth of Carlos Delgado

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:12:28 -0500

Under my microscope: Delgado picks it up

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:05:42 -0500

Trade rumors are swirling around Brian Fuentes, but he's pitching impressively in the meantime, says Mike Harmon. Also, fantasy news on the Mets and latest injury updates on Takashi Saito, Chris Carpenter, Bobby Jenks and David Ortiz. How will Scott Kazmir's and Dan Uggla's performance in the All-Star game affect them?

Fernando Tatis Doesn't Suck? Huh?

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:14:03 -0500

There's a lot of reasons why the Mets are on a 10 game winning streak. The pitching is actually stepping up, from the starters to the bullpen everybody is pitching better for Jerry than they did for Willie. Additionally their key hitters Reyes, Wright and Beltran are hitting at a high level as well as a re-emergence of Carlos Delgado as a viable major leaguers. Of the reasons the Mets have won 10 in a row none is more shocking than the play of Fernando Tatis. Tatis has only been on an active roster once since 2003.

Tatis started the month of July hitting .253 on the season with 1 homer in minimal playing time. Now getting consistent playing time for the Mets, he's hit 4 home runs this month and has boosted his average .53 points to .306. In addition Tatis hascome up with clutch hits for the Mets, big time hits that won games. Last night in the come back victory Tatis finished 3-4 with a home run and 3 RBI.

So, what am I getting at here? This is a fluke. There's a reason he hasn't played in the league consistently for the past 5 years. He isn't good. Soon enough he will stop hitting, the Mets pitchers will cool and the Mets will rejoin earth. It's only a matter of time.

Mid Season Report

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:54:07 -0500

The first half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has been full of surprises, from the Tigers to the Rays to the Padres to the Braves. Most surprising of all, at least to the Phillies faithful, is that at the All Star break the Phillies were in first place atop the National League East. The Phillies are currently a half a game ahead of the Mets and one a half games up on the Marlins. Lets go through the majors and recap the season so far. AL East Perhaps the biggest story in the majors this year is the surprising play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who at the break were just half a game behind the first place Red Sox, and that's with a seven game losing streak. The Rays have been bolstered by one of the most talented young lineups in the majors in years, as well as some timely defense and a great, young rotation led by ace Scott Kazmir. They are definitely the Cinderella, the darlings of the 2008 season, much to the chagrin to their division rivals the Red Sox. Boston fans are upset that some of the media focus and the limelight has been diverted from their beloved Sox. The reigning champs continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, despite losing pitcher Curt Schilling for the year (and perhaps for good) and a decline in production from slugger David Ortiz (including a stint on the disabled list). It looks like this could be the first time in years that the New York Yankees won't make the playoffs. They currently sit six games back of Boston and it just looks like there is too much talent in Tampa and Boston for the Yanks to make up enough ground. That being said, I am loathe to ever count the Yankees out of anything. Red Sox win division. If it wasn't for the Rays, the debacle in the AL Central would be the biggest story of the season. The Tigers, whom I picked to win the World Series, are a disappointing .500 on the season. Even more surprising, the Indians are in last place, 12 games under .500. The Chicago White Sox are sitting pretty atop the Central at 14 games over .500, led by 10 game winner, and former Phillie, Gavin Floyd. Erratic closer Bobby Jenks, despite being on the DL, has 18 saves with a 1.95 ERA. On offense, the White Sox have a tandem of heavy hitting outfielders in Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin. I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed by the White Sox. In large part, I think they have overachieved so far this season. I think they will come back to earth, which will leave an opening for the Minnesota Twins to step in and take the division. The Twins, led by first baseman Justin Morneau, DH Jason Kubel, and catcher Joe Mauer, are right on the tail of the White Sox, just a game and a half back, and with star pitcher Francisco Liriano waiting in the wings of AAA, the Twins are poised to move into the post Santana era. Twins win the division. AL West Until the Texas Rangers find someone who can pitch (Vicente Padilla currently leads the team in wins with 10), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the prohibitive favorites to win the division for years to come. The Rangers can hit, led by the top individual story of the year Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley, but their pitching is a joke. They boast a rotation of Kevin Millwood, Padilla, Jamey Wright and Kason Gabbard. Until they can get at least one pitcher, they could have all the offense in the world, they still won't be able to compete with Los Angeles. The Angels' pitching rotation, which boasts John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver, not to mention closer Francisco Rodriguez who is on pace to shatter the single season saves record, is arguably the best in the majors. Their offense, while not being the power heavy lineup that Texas or Boston has, plays small ball like no other team in the majors. The obvious offensive leader is Vladimir Guerrero, accompanied by Torii Hunter. But the offense works so well because of intelligent baseball guy like Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and Garret Anderson. The Oakland Athletics have basically traded themselves out of contention and the Seattle Mariners have the worst record in baseball. Needless to say, Angels win the division. I think the Rays win the AL Wild card this year. They are too talented to fall behind the likes of the White Sox or Rangers. In the end however, the Red Sox have too much experience and skill to be taken down. They beat the Angels to go on to the World Series. NL West Many commentators are calling this the NL Worst, and it's hard to argue with that. After starting out red hot, division leading Arizona is now one game below .500. That's right. The division leader has a losing record. Need I say more? The reigning NL Champion Colorado Rockies are fourth in the division with a record of 39-57, topped only by the San Diego Padres, an incomprehensible 37-58. The Dodgers are one game back of the Diamondbacks, trailed by the San Francisco Giants in third place. This division is a crapshoot at this point, but the Diamondbacks' pitching, led by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren is just too good and the offense is not going to continue to struggle in the mighty fashion it has over the past month or so. With up and coming stars like Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson and Chris Young, the Diamondbacks are going to eventually right their ship. Arizona wins the division. NL Central This is the best division in baseball. The Cubs are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball. Four and a half games behind them are the Cardinals, with the Brewers just a half game behind them. All three of these teams are going to be better in the second half. The Cubs traded for Rich Harden last week, and the Brewers added reigning AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia. The Cardinals are getting ready for the return of Adam Wainwright and former Cy Young Chris Carpenter. Both pitchers are aces on almost any other team in the majors. The Cubs and Brewers already have bona fide aces on their teams in Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets, respectively. This is, without a doubt, the toughest division in baseball in some time. I think the Cubs are ultimately the most complete team in the league, and certainly the division. Now let me just say, here and now, there is no way Ryan Dempster continues to pitch this well. He just isn't this good. He will come back down to earth. But even with The Dumpster coming back to reality, the Cubs are bolstered by some serviceable pitching in Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, in addition to Zambrano and Harden. On offense, the Cubs' lineup reads like it's very own All Star roster, led by Derek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Geovany Soto. Cubs win the division. NL East The Phillies came into today with a half game lead over the Mets. The Marlins sit just one game behind the Mets. It is a division up for grabs to say the least. The Marlins boast a talented, young roster rivaled by only Tampa Bay and Arizona. Led by Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla and Josh Willingham, they have an offense that puts the in a position to win every night. That being said, their pitching is thin, with Ricky Nolasco leading the team with 10 wins and a 3.70 ERA. The Braves are most likely looking to scrap this year and go into rebuilding mood, if only temporarily. First baseman Mark Teixeira is a free agent at the end of this year and chances are that the Braves are going to move him before the trade deadline. Their pitching is pretty banged up, and old. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton are all currently on the disabled list. Not to mention that they are six and a half games out of first place. The Mets pose the biggest threat to the Phillies' playoff hopes. Winners of nine straight coming into the break, the Mets are batting .320 as a team during that time. They also only gave up a total of 19 runs over the same span. They are hot, no doubt, led by Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Fernando Tatis. But therein lies the problem for the Mets. They have been winning in large part as a result of the contributions of usual bench players like Tatis, Endy Chavez, and Damion Easley. The Mets' pitching is also suspect after you get past Johan Santana and John Maine, neither of whom have been stellar this season. After having a impressive season last year, Oliver Perez is 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA. His record is somewhat deceiving, as he has been wildly inconsistent this year. Pedro Martinez continues to battle being really old. Originally set to return this week, his next start is being skipped. I just don't think the Mets have the talent to overcome a Phils team with a much more potent offense and what could end up being a more stable pitching rotation. The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the Athletics Thursday, and while Blanton has not had much of a year so far this season (5-12, 4.96 ERA), he has show some real talent and a change of location could be all he needs to break out. More importantly, the addition of Blanton means that Adam Eaton is out of the starting rotation. Brett Myers is progressing nicely in AAA and is set to return to face the Mets on July 23rd. JA Happ threw a no hitter today in his minor league start and it is only a matter of time before he is brought up to the major leagues for good. The biggest cause for concern for the Mets is that the Phils' struggles have in large part been due to a lack of offense. This coming from one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. Jimmy Rollins, Chasey Utley and Geoff Jenkins are eventually going to turn things around. Ryan Howard continues to lead the league in home runs and RBIs. Pat Burrell is going to eclipse his usual 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. And that's without the possible addition of another bat, like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. I say this with the caveat that I generally have no faith in the Phillies in ever winning anything, and at the risk of tempting fate, I pick the Phillies to win the division. I pick the Brewers to win the NL Wild Card this year. I'm going to be very cliche and pick the Cubs to win the NL Pennant over the Brewers. I think unless the Phillies add a serious starting pitcher, ala Erik Bedard, they are not going to be able to compete with the Brewers in the playoffs. That will bring us to the ESPN's ultimate dream, a Red Sox Cubs World Series. Bristol could fawn all over the lovable losers from Chicago and Boston. Seriously though, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Boston wins, again. (Just threw up again) Should be a very exciting second half. Continue to check out Hot Stove Philly as we bring you all the latest scores, trades, rumors, and general sports drama.

SURGING NEW ! YORK METS !

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:13:10 -0500

Well as a N.Y. METS fan watching the game tonight made me very happy,as I felt LIFE in my team this is something that I haven't seen in quiet sometime .David Wright came up with 1 out in the ninth and a runner on first and I don't know about anyone else but It felt like something good was gonna happen . This team has a great thing going I just don't understand why they couldn't get it done under willie . Well getting back to David Wright he came through with a big 2 run HOMERUN as they scored 4 in the ninth and won . Oh this is the team I knew they were Jerry was the right man for NEW ! York METS this guy came in a basically turned this club into a team . I love what I'm seeing from my team .10 STRIAGHT AND SURGING ! LETS GO AND KEEP GOING METS ! FIRST PLACE BABY ! Delgado & Tatis both look reborn as they both had homers tonight as well . This whole team is looking good . its gonna be fun to watch this team down the stretch run .

Welcome to first place, Mets fans; Mets win 10-8

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:05:40 -0500

Johna Santana has his worst start in blue and orange, lasting a mere four innings and allowing five runs to score before getting chased. The Mets didn't seem to care. The bullpen faltered, for the first time in 22 innings. The Mets didn't seem to care. Billy Wagner blew the save in the All Star game. The Mets didn't seem to care.

The Mets are streaking on both sides of the ball

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:57:16 -0500

The Mets have been the team that we thought they could be, finally. Mike Pelfrey has blossomed into a wonderful pitcher, Johan Santana has plugged away at his consistently wonderful pace, and Olvier Perez has switched his mechanics and seen great results. The bats are back too, as Carlos Delgado is getting on track (maybe), Jose Reyes is on an absolute tear after getting off to a slow start, and Damion Easley is filling in admirably at second base.

All-Overrated Team - NL

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:24:00 -0500

Here are the NL culprits. 1B - Carlos Delgado, NYM - As was the case with the AL, there aren't actually that many candidates because most 1B are pretty good in the NL, but Delgado brings a .246 average to the plate and only Adam LaRoche has a worse OPS among 1B that qualify. 2B - Jeff Kent, LAD - His overrated-ness mostly comes from the fact that he bats in the middle of the order for the Dodgers. He has a decent OPS, but 39 RBIs aren't enough, and his .254 average is OK at best. Maybe this is why the Dodgers are struggling offensively (other than Andruw Jones). SS - Jimmy Rollins, PHI - I love Jimmy Rollins, but he is the reigning MVP, so his low HR and RBI total plus a .270 average get him on this list. 3B - None - I know, it seems indefensible, but of my two best candidates, one also plays CF (Bill Hall) and the other has 13 HRs and a .814 OPS (Troy Glaus). There are a lot of good third basemen in the NL. OF - Kosuke Fukudome, CHC - It seems that he made the All-Star team because he's popular. It can't be because he deserved it because the likes of Aaron Rowand and Jason Bay have more HRs, RBIs, and a higher BA. OF - Adam Dunn, CIN - I know he's really strong, but he has 96 strikeouts and a .225 average. Yet everyone thinks he would be a great addition to their club. OF - Ken Griffey Jr., CIN - It's really tough to pick on a guy who hit his 600th HR this year and did it the right way, but there were people calling for him to make the All-Star team. With a .235 BA and 13 HRs? Don't think so. C - Benji Molina, SF - Did you know there are only 6 catchers that qualify in the NL? Benji, who I thought was pretty good, has the second-worst average among them. SP - Aaron Harang, CIN - Wasn't he their ace last year? Well now he's something like 3-11 and has an ERA over 4. (Note: it would be too easy to put Barry Zito here) RP - Trevor Hoffman, SD - I know, I know, I'm hating on the best closer of all time. But his ERA is over 5. That means that in more than half of the innings he pitches, he'll give up a run. For a closer, that's terrible.