Mets vs. Dodgers

The N.Y. Mets beat the L.A. Dodgers 3-2 today at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Johan Santana pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits. During those three innings Santana looked sharp, walking only one while striking out four. He had a batters off balance most of the time. Santana was followed by Steve Register who tossed two scoreless innings. During those two innings he struck out two. Scott Schoeneweis pitched a scoreless 6th, while Juan Padilla allowed one unearned run on two hits in the 7th. Nate Field and Joe Smith each pitched one scoreless inning to finish off the game. At the plate, the Mets bats were mostly quiet today. Fernando Martinez, however, had two hits (line drive single and a double in the gap) and a walk in four plate appearances. Anderson Hernandez, who was 3-5 in the game, drove in the winning run off Tom Martin in the bottom of the 9th.

The Mets are now 5-3-1 in Spring Training this year.

Following the Fundamentals....

Following the fundamentals….

2007

In 2007 the Mets played abysmal spring baseball. They amassed a terrible record of 12-21-1. During that time their team allowed an average of 5.21 runs per game, while scoring only 4.17 runs per game. At the same time, their defense played miserable making 24 errors in only 34 games.

Here is a breakdown of the errors committed last spring by the Mets:

0 errors on 3/31

1 errors on 3/30 = D Easley

0 errors on 3/29

0 errors on 3/28  

1 error on 3/27 = R Castro

0 errors on 3/26

0 errors on 3/25

2 errors on 3/24 = D Wright, L Milledge

2 errors on 3/23 = D Newhan, A Hernandez

1 error on 3/22 = D Wright

1 error on 3/21 = D Wright

0 errors on 3/20

1 error on 3/18 = R Castro

2 errors on 3/17 = M Carp, A Hernandez

1 error on 3/16 = D Wright

0 errors on 3/15

1 error on 3/14 = M Carp

1 error on 3/13 = A Hernandez

0 errors on 3/12 

1 error on 3/11 = J Coronado

1 error on 3/10 = A Hernandez

1 error on 3/9 = P. Humber

3 errors on 3/8 = J. Valentin, J. Vargas, J. Reyes

1 error on 3/7 = J. Valentin

1 error on 3/6 = M Carp

0 errors on 3/5

1 error on 3/4 = A Hernandez

0 errors on 3/3

0 errors on 3/2

1 error on 3/1 = A Hernandez

0 errors on 2/28

2008

So far in 2008 the Mets are playing far better spring baseball then 2007. To date the Mets have accumulated a 4-3-1 record. The pitching has allowed an average of 3.63 runs per game. That is down from last year. Also, thus far this spring the Mets defense has only committed 4 errors in 8 games. That is below the pace of last year. The only downside is that the Mets offense has failed to produce this spring, as it is only average 3.25 runs per game thus far. Still, one must keep in mind that the Mets are still with Delgado, Beltran, Castillo, Church, and Schneider.

Here is a breakdown of the errors committed thus far this spring by the Mets:

2 errors on 3/4 = Lucas (1, fielding), Pagan (1, fielding)

1 error on 3/3 = Acosta (1, pickoff)

0 errors on 3/2

0 errors on 3/1

0 errors on 2/29

1 error on 2/28 = Wright (1, throw)

0 errors on 2/27

0 errors on 2/26

Mets vs. Marlins

The N.Y. Mets beat the Florida Marlins 6-2 today in Jupiter Florida. John Maine got the start today, and pitched 3 innings while allowing 1 run on 4 hits. He also struck out three. Feliciano and Wise followed Maine with scorless innings. Sosa pitched the 6th and 7th allowing only 1 unearned run. Stokes and Cavazos finished off the game with back to back scoreless innings. At the plate, Angel Pagan continued to impress going 3-5 with 2 RBI's. Anderson Hernandez went 2-5 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Tejada also got 2 hits and scored 2 runs. Both Hernandez and Tejada also stole a base today. The other two Met runs were driven in by Carrera and Casanova. In the field, the Mets turned 1 double play and super prospect Fernando Martinez had an outfield assist gunning down Rableo at home plate to save a run.

The Mets are now 4-3-1 in Spring Training this year.

Mets vs. Braves

The N.Y. Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 today at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. Mike Pelfrey started the game for the Mets and was solid. He gave up no runs over 3 innings of work. He broke two bats and only allowed 2 hits. Pelfrey was supported by 2 early runs. Castro drove in the first Mets run with an RBI triple while reyes drove in the second with an RBI single. After 3 the Mets were ahead 2-0. Wagner then came in. He started off using the full wind up, as he has been doing this spring. He threw a lot of curve balls in the inning. Initially, they looked sharp. Eventually, however, the Braves adjusted. They scored 1 run off Wagner in the 4th. The Mets did not score in the bottom half of the inning, so the score was 2-1 after 4. Wagner was then followed by Figueroa who pitched 2 scoreless innings for the Mets. After 6 innings the score remained 2-1. Vargas pitched a scoreless 7th inning, and the Mets remained ahead 2-1 going into the 8th. In the 8th Muniz gave up 1 run. The score was tied going into the 9th. Rincon pitched a scoreless inning for the Mets (looked good - struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced), but the bats did not produce in the bottom of the inning. Ivan Maldonado followed Rincon with a scoreless inning of his own. After the Mets held the Braves in the top of the 10th, the Mets put together bat to back 2 out hits to win the game. Ruben Tejada drove in the winning run with a double to the gap that scored a Michel Abreu on a close play at home plate. The ball beat Abreu to the plate, but a nifty slide gave the Mets the win.

The Mets are now 3-3-1 in Spring Training this year.

Mets vs. Dodgers (away)

The N.Y. Mets beat the L.A. Dodgers 6-5 today at Vero Beach, Fl. Oliver Perez started the game for the Mets and was touched up for 3 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings of work. Heilman followed Perez with a scoreless inning of work. Scott Schoeneweis then came in and gave up 1 run on 3 hits in 1 inning of work. Joe Smith followed suit by also giving up 1 run in 1 inning of work. Lugo, Register, Field, and Diaz closed out the game by combining for 4 innings of scoreless work. In the field, the Mets defense turned 3 double plays today. At the plate, the Mets bats finally came to life scoring 6 runs. Angel Pagan led the charge going 3 for 5 with 3 rbis and a stolen base. Anderson Hernandez and Reuben Gotay also had multi-hit games. Castro, Clark, and Gotay each drove in 1 run. Mets super prospect Fernando Martinez went 1-4 today.

The Mets are now 2-3-1 in Spring Training this year.