We're the Team to Beat - a Mets and Phillies Rivalry Blog
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11 August 2009
If you're wondering who the Mets second baseman of the future is, look no further than Ruben Tejada. Coming into the season, Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog listed the 19 year old Tejada as the organization's 19th best prospect. Scouts liked Tejada's potential, but he struggled as an 18 year old in advanced competition. Last season, while playing with players who were on average 3-5 years older, Tejada batted just .229 in 131 games in St. Lucie. It was impressive in and of itself that Tejada held up for a full season in St. Lucie, but his numbers left a lot to be desired.
Of course, in typical Tony Bernazard fashion, the Mets rushed Tejada to AA Binghamton this season, and he has exploded onto the scene. He is 7 for his last 8 (including a HR off Kyle Drabek), and he has raised his average to .294. For a 19 year old in AA, that is simply phenomenal. And the fact that he is red hot this late into the season demonstrates how close he is to being major league ready. Now I know all too well that prospects are simply that. Prospects. There's no such thing as a "sure thing". But for what it's worth, take a look at this comparison between Tejada, and 19 year old Jose Reyes:
| Name | Age | G | AVG | OBP | SLG | XBH | HR | SB | CS |
| Ruben Tejada | 19 | 108 | .294 | .358 | .382 | 25 | 4 | 14 | 2 |
| Jose Reyes | 19 | 134 | .288 | .343 | .444 | 53 | 8 | 58 | 24 |
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10 August 2009
Whats better than watching the Phillies lose? Well, nothing. But watching Shane Victorino kick and scream like a little girl is a close second. The cryin' Hawaiian was at it again last night, this time getting tossed from centerfield arguing a strike call. I've made it clear that I can't stand Shane Victorino, so its obviously hard for me to not pile on my Most Hated Phillie. As Mike pointed out, this incident only adds fuel to the fire.
I will admit, the incident was like nothing I've ever seen on a baseball field. And if Phillies fans want to argue that Ed Rapuano had a short fuse last night I'm willing to accept that. But the bottom line is that you simply cannot argue balls and strikes, and Victorino's childish antics are growing tired. For someone who can't stand Jose Reyes celebrating, Shane has proven his immaturity time and time again. I can't even blame him for going ballastic afterwards, but Rapuano is a well respected umpire who knows his stuff. And that brings me to the best part. Shane's comments afterwards:
I love Ed. He’s a great guy, one of the best umpires in the game. It’s unfortunate what happened. I let my emotions get the best of me. I hope Ed doesn’t hold it against me.Really Shane? If you are going to act that demonstratively, at least be a man and stand up for yourself afterwards. I think at this point he is trying to save face and avoid a fine. Of course, the "tough guy" mentality of Phils fans will only cause them to respect Victorino more. But who in their right mind shoves a teammate out of the way to argue with a man he "loves"? Classic Victorino.
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10 August 2009
Well for now that is. Pedro Martinez is taking Jamie Moyer’s spot in the rotation for the time being. Jamie has been struggling for a time now and Pedro is fresh off some solid rehab starts. If anyone had any doubt, Moyer handled it well (from ESPN):
Manuel said. "Jamie was a total professional and team player when we let him know of the decision to move him to the bullpen. He has been and will continue to be a very important part of this team."
Also, Chad Durbin has be reactivated and Rodrigo Lopez is gone to AAA. Moyer’s time in the starting rotation led to his 10-9 record with a 5.47 ERA thus far. I imagine that Jamie will be making some spot starts and still get plenty of big spots for the Phillies.
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10 August 2009
The Phillies dropped another. They’re 3 for their last 11, things are not good. An example of how things are going: Shane Victorino got himself tossed for flailing his arms in disbelief after a few balls and strikes. Shane was tossed on the spot and justifiably went insane after he was throw out. That’s just the protocol. Once you get the hook, you lose your mind and get your money’s worth. This only gives Mets fans more fuel for the Victorino hate bon fire and it only gives Phillies fans more reason to love him. The team has been playing poorly again and Shane isn’t sitting around and loathing in it. He’s pissed off and you’ve got to respect that. This isn’t a team that should lose 8 out of 11 games and Shane’s letting people know that that’s not okay with him. I like it. Things I don’t like: Kyle Kendrick.
Not a good series for the Phillies, losing 3 straight to the Fish. We still hold a 4 game lead in the division but it is shrinking as of late and not looking very strong right now. Can Cliff Lee pitch every day?
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08 August 2009
All you need to know about this game comes from one stat. The Phillies top four hitters were 1 for 14 with eight K’s. Ryan Howard had 3 K’s himself. Not fun. The Marlins took a 3-0 in the first two innings and it stayed that way until a two-run homer from Ben Francisco got the Phillies on the board and back into the game. The bullpen snuck through a few scoreless innings and out of some big jams.
Today Cole Hamels throws for the Phillies and he needs to have a strong outing. It’s been such an up and down season for Ol’ King Cole and he needs to get on track. I feel like I write this every time he pitches and I guess it’s just been that sort of year for the “ace”. Truth be told, as long as the Phillies end up in the playoffs at the end of the year and Cole does work, then his regular season woes won’t matter.
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07 August 2009
According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, a team has claimed Alex Rios off waivers. Based on the size of his contract (5 years, $60 million), it can be assumed that a big market team made the claim. Now this doesn't necessarily mean the Mets are involved, but looking around at the other big market teams there doesn't seem to be a real fit. In fact, Olney speculates that the two teams that could have made the claim are the Giants and Mets.
The Jays now have to decide whether to keep Rios on waivers. If they pull him off waivers he will remian in Toronto and is not eligible to be traded this season. But if they keep him on waivers the team that made the trade gets him (and his big contract) for nothing. They can also work out a trade with the claiming team, but given the size of his contract I think that's unlikely.
Obviously its all speculation at this point, but if the Mets were to acquire Rios I would be a very happy person. He has struggled at times this season, but he has the potential to be a legitimate superstar. Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog likens him to a young Carlos Beltran, and I feel like this is a reasonable comparison. Now I can't say that Rios will blossom into a player of Beltran's caliber, but the potential does exist. And if the Mets do in fact claim Rios, I think the writing might be on the wall for Carlos Beltran. I wouldn't be shocked if the Mets shop Beltran in the offseason, even if this Rios situation proves to be nothing. One things for certain, the next 24 hours will be very interesting. Stay tuned!
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07 August 2009
Another tough night in a season that’s been full of them for the Mets. Livan Hernandez struggled from the get-go and it’s hard to believe he lasted five innings with the 7 runs he allowed on eight hits and four walks. The bullpen was decent even though Tim Redding struggled, but the damage had already been done. Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for the Padres in the third inning when they scored the bulk of their runs.
Offensively, the Mets had eight hits as a team but also left 8 men on base. It’s never good when you strike-out 9 times as a team. That’s a third of all of your team’s at-bats where you didn’t even put the ball in play. Not encouraging.
David Wright was hitless in the game, but is still batting .326 on the season. Angel Berroa was hitless to but that’s something you just come to expect. In their big scoring inning, the Mets got two quick hits with no outs. Then on a hit to center they scored a run on an error by the CF. Another single scores a run and gives first and third. Then Daniel Murphy hits into a double play to score the third run of the inning. Good times.
The loss drops the Mets to six games under .500 and 11 back for the division. That number doesn’t really matter, the 9 games out of the wild card is much more important. But realistically, neither matter all that much for the Mets this season. 2009 is a season about surviving now. The GM, the manager, the third basemen, everyone is just trying to survive the season.
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07 August 2009
Ehh that title is pretty weak. Don’t think I’m proud of that one. Anyway Cliff Lee was superb again for the Phillies in his second start with the team. Cliff went 7 strong on 1 hit, 6 hits, and 7 K’s. Cliff is pitching exactly like the kind of guy we thought we were getting and is doing a great job as the current Ace of the staff while Cole Hamels is trying to figure it out again.
Paul Bako was the hero offensively with a game-tying home run that was the difference in the game. J-Roll is still hot and tearing it up offensively. 3-4 last night with a double and a triple, scoring 2 of the 3 team runs and pushing that average north to .245 which is impressive when you think of where that came from. The team had 7 hits total and Jimmy and Bako combined for 5 so it wasn’t a banner night offensively which makes it even better that we got the win.
The bullpen made a great showing after Cliff left the game and shut down the Rockies in the eighth and ninth to preserve the victory. Ryan Madson got the hold with a solid eighth and Brad Lidge shut it down in the ninth for the save with 2 strike-outs. Those are two guys that the Phillies really need to step up again if they’re going to go deep into the playoffs once more.
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06 August 2009
Found this on It’s about the Money, Stupid. It’s definitely worth the two minutes to watch it:
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06 August 2009
Pedro did work last night for the Reading Phillies to the tune of six innings, 11 K’s, 3 earned runs, 5 hits, and a walk on 82 total pitches. Pedro said he wasn’t perfect out there and felt a little weak, but overall he feels good and has some work to do.
He’s not setting the world on fire during his rehab, but he’s pitching well enough and getting into game shape. So when he returns where does he fit in? Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton are in the rotation to stay and that’s 4 of the 5 spots.
The only question mark is Jamie Moyer. Then the question becomes who’s more valuable in that fifth spot and who’s more valuable in the bullpen. The problem is, I don’t think either are suited for high-tension bullpen work. They would both be solid long relievers but that’s not a position for established veteran starters.
I think Ruben will leave Pedro down in the minors for a while longer to see where the rotation moves from here. An injury could make this a much easier decision for Ruben, but let’s hope we don’t have to go down that road. Inevitably, I think Pedro will fill the long relief and spot start role and we’ll go from there.
