Clay Hensley is Going to Dominate the NL this season.

The Mets have batted around here against Clay Hensley of the Astros in the 3rd inning. Delgado just followed up Schneider's grand slam with a 3-run homer of his own (which nothing looked right about -- the swing was a terrible uppercut, it looked like a pop fly, and wound up going about 3 inches over the shoulder of the right fielder who simply missed the ball as it cleared the fence). Hensley was just pulled from the game after the Mets announcers said this is a terrible sign for a guy trying to earn a spot on the roster.

What does this all mean?

Answer: Clay Hensley is going to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Why, you ask? Well, last year, the Mets had a Spring Training game against the Cleveland Indians in which the Indians sent out Cliff Lee to the hill. Lee was competing for a spot in the Indians' rotation. He failed to make it out of the first inning after giving up several runs (I don't remember exactly how many), and the Mets announcers that day said it was a terrible sign for a guy competing for a spot. How did it turn out for Lee? He had a dominant season that resulted in a Cy Young Award and Comeback Player of the Year Award.

So there you have it: Clay Hensley is the early favorite for the NL Cy Young Award.

Love is the Most Important Thing in the World, but Baseball is Pretty Good Too

So far this Spring Training, I've had to just listen to the Mets games on mlb.com since we do not get SNY here at Gettysburg College. However, we do -- for some strange reason -- get CW11, so I haven't moved from my seat since 1 pm as I've been watching the Mets take on the Astros. So far, the offense has looked good, loading the bases in each of the first 3 innings. However, they only just pushed in a run for the first time here in the 3rd on Ryan Church's grounder through the legs of the Astros first-baseman (the second time today Church reached on an error).

On another note, John Maine started today's game. His first inning was sharp (despite a solo homerun by Miguel Tejada). He lost his control a bit in the 2nd, but the important thing for Maine is seeing him healthy after last season. The importance of his health is heightened with the news today that Santana is returning to NYC to have his elbow examined.


....as I typed this, Brian Schneider hit a grand slam to put the Mets on top 5-1. Last season, I made it to three Mets games (two at Shea and one in Washington). Schneider homered in all of them -- including being the last person I saw hit a homer at Shea (against these Astros). Let's hope he stays healthy this year, as well, as he spent the first half of last season struggling from a multitude of problems before having a strong second half at the plate.

Watching baseball again feels great. The world is right again. If only Casey Fossum could pitch today it would be perfect.....

Last Day at Shea

Tonight's victory against the Astros will most likely be the final game I go to at Shea Stadium. I have to be happy with the way it worked out: a Santana v. Oswalt matchup, the return of Ryan Church from the DL (which included a 2-minute standing ovation when it came time for his first at-bat, in which he hit an infield single), and a Mets victory. The last homerun I'll ever see in-person at Shea Stadium was hit by Brian Schneider off Oswalt immediately following Church's single. The last out was recorded by Luis Ayala (which capped off two perfect innings by the normally-nerve-racking Mets 'pen). And most importantly, the Mets sit in first place as I walked away from Shea Stadium for the last time.


Goodbye, Shea.

Not Much New

I've been very busy lately, thus the no new posts on the Mets. But here's a basic update:

-Wright is unfortunately in a slump.
-Ryan Church is still hitting the ball hard, against both righties and lefties.
-Aaron Heilman has taken over the top spot on my list of undesirables. He is absolutely terrible.
-Brian Schneider has missed the last several games with an injury. Raul Casanova has filled in for him. Casanova has a homerun today off of John Smoltz.
-The Mets knocked Smoltz out of today's game after only 4 innings. The Mets were leading 4-0. It is now 4-3.... Crap.


-----------

Hopefully I'll have time for another substantive post soon.

Finally another post: covering potato chips, the Nets, and the Mets

I've had nothing much to write about lately and have been terribly busy with classes and the work that goes along with them. However, someone complained that there hasn't been enough new stuff on here lately, so here goes something:

I was just eating potato chips just now and pulled out 3 straight chips that were shaped perfectly like Texas, Ohio, and Indiana and were even proportionately-sized. I take that to be a sign that either the Republicans are gonna win those 3 states in November or the Nets are going to have a very good road trip. However, since the Nets recently completed a dreadful Texas roadtrip and then lost to the Cavs, it could mean that they're also going to have a terrible showing against the Pacers soon. I haven't checked their schedule to confirm this possibility.

On the Mets front, John Maine pitched well again today, allowing only one run (a solo homer) on four hits in 5-2/3 innings. Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro are both nursing strained right hamstrings, which means right now the #1 catcher in the organization is Robinson Cancel or Raul Casanova (who had 2 hits and an RBI in the game tonight). Also, El Duque pitched a simulated game today, throwing around 75-80 pitches. Sadly, his top pitch speed was also in that range. And some people who watched it said that at times it seemed like slow-pitch softball. Now, everybody has seen El Duque occasionally throw the Bugs Bunny slowball, but from the sounds of the reports, his pitches today were all at very mediocre velocities. The Mets don't need a 5th starter for about a month due to the oddity of April scheduling that comes every year, but this is a very discouraging sign (unless, of course, you're either Mike Pelfrey or Mike Pelfrey's mother).

Update from last post

Out of the large number of Mets listed in the last post as being injured, several returned to the lineup today. The biggest surprise was Ryan Church, returning from the Grade 2 concussion he suffered in his collision last weekend. Church looked good, ripping two line-drive singles to right in his only 2 at-bats. Also returning to the lineup for the game against the Marlins were Brian Schneider, Damion Easley, and Endy Chavez. This was a split-squad game, and on the other squad which traveled to face the Baltimore Orioles, Marlon Anderson made his return to the lineup.

Duaner Sanchez is also scheduled to pitch for the first time in 8 days in the game against the Marlins, though he hasn't entered the game yet as of now.


Beltran, Castillo, and Delgado continue to sit out. Reports on Beltran and Castillo sound like they could appear in a game any day now. Delgado has taken batting practice and reported no pain.

Moises Alou will definitely miss the beginning of the regular season. Orlando Hernandez has finally thrown a bit down in Florida, but there is no definite timetable for his first appearence in a game.

No Surprise from Alou; Mets' team injury recap

The first poll on this blog asked readers to choose which Mets player would be most seriously injured this season. By a large margin, readers selected "Moises Alou, just by being Moises Alou." Those people are off to an early lead, as today it was learned that Alou will miss 4-6 weeks following surgery for a hernia.

How exactly did Alou get a hernia? From all that heavy lifting he does in his life? The bat and ball are really heavy.... Every Spring Training game he has played so far, I've yelled at the tv screen for Alou to just walk to any balls hit to left and allow the batter to get an inside the park homerun in order to avoid injuring his legs. I don't know what he could have done to cause this hernia, or possibly could've done to prevent it. What a disaster.

So, to recap for people, the Mets regular starters in the outfield (Ryan Church, Carlos Beltran, and Moises Alou) are all injured. Their primary back-up outfielder (Endy Chavez) is injured. Their starting catcher (Brian Schneider) is injured. Their first baseman (Carlos Delgado) and both of his backups (Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson, both of whom are also backup outfielders and backup utility infielders) are injured. Their second baseman (Luis Castillo) is injured, along with both of his backups already named and also the person who would come 4th on the depth chart at second base (Jose Valentin). So out of the Mets 8 position-player regulars, only David Wright and Jose Reyes are uninjured at this time (though Reyes did take a couple days off after awkwardly fouling a ball off his own knee). What a great start...