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Backstreet Symphony
The Marlins are hot. White hot. They swept the Washington Nationals, who are playing their regular schedule despite being demoted to the International League during the offseason. They can run, they can hit, they can pitch. Thankfully, they can't field, finishing third in all of baseball in errors in 2008.
Laughing On Judgement Day
The Marlins, as we all know, have knocked the Mets out of the playoff picture for the last two years running. Thankfully, Hanley Ramirez doesn't remind Jose Reyes about it all the time, says David Lennon of Newsday. (http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ ... 5408.story) Hanley's a bigger man than I am; hell, I'd spend all off-season making fun of Reyes if I was Hanley. But I suppose Hanley hasn't won anything himself either, so maybe it's all good. Anyway...
Behind Closed Doors
The All-Time Mets/Marlins Team:
Carlos Delgado 1B
Luis Castillo 2B
Todd Zeile 3B
Damion Easley SS
Mike Piazza C
Moises Alou LF
Cliff Floyd CF
Carl Everett RF
Bench:
Lenny Harris PH
Bobby Bonilla SUCKS
Jeff Conine OF
Mike Jacobs 1B
Dave Magadan IF
Paul LoDuca C
Ramon Castro C
SP: Al Leiter, Darren Oliver, Yorkis Perez, Jason Vargas, Reid Cornelius
RP: Toby Borland, Dennis Cook, Jorge Julio, Braden Looper, Guillermo Mota
CL: Armando Benitez
(Not a bad team, as long as you don't mind your pitching staff giving up thirteen runs every game, especially with that outfield defense.)
The Thrill Of It All
FRIDAY 7:10 -- Anibal Sanchez vs John Maine
Sanchez, making his first start of the season, is best known for his September 2006 no-hitter over the Diamondbacks. A hard-throwing righty, he missed most of the last two seasons with shoulder woes. Will walk guys, but will also pile up strikeouts. He's 2-1, 3.63 lifetime against the Mets.
SATURDAY 6:10 -- Ricky Nolasco (1-0, 7.50) vs Livan Hernandez
Nolasco pitched Opening Day for the Fish, a 12-6 win over Washington. Nolasco gave up five runs in six innings. He's 2-5, 6.27 in eleven career appearances against the Mets. Just about everyone in the lineup has hit Nolasco hard:
Jose Reyes: .423 (11 for 26), 2 HR
Daniel Murphy: 3 for 8
David Wright: .480 (12 for 25), 3 2B, 3 HR
Carlos Delgado: 6 for 21, HR
Carlos Beltran: .348 (8 for 23), HR
Luis Castillo: 4 for 7
Fernando Tatis: 2 for 6, 2B
SUNDAY 1:10 -- Josh Johnson (1-0, 0.00) vs Johan Santana (1-0, 1.59)
The anti-Nolasco, Johnson has given the Mets fits. Delgado, Beltran, Wright, and Reyes are a combined 5 for 42 against him, with Reyes carrying the load at 3 for 9, all singles. Johnson has four wins in five starts against the Mets, and in his one no-decision, he gave up no runs in five innings in a game he left leading 4-0 before the bullpen gave up six runs in the last three innings (including a run off Ricky Nolasco!) to lose 6-4.
Giving The Game Away
As bad as the Mets' bullpen was in 2008, the Marlins weren't much better, with 24 blown saves. Most of those culpable in that output (Kevin Gregg's nine and Joe Nelson's four) are gone, however. The bullpen is led by former Mets farmhand Matt Lindstrom, who throws way harder than a guy I knew in college with the same name (no relation). The rest of the bullpen:
Kiko Calero (R): 34-year-old setup man who's retired all eight batters he's faced this season, striking out four. Reliable guy who's spent time with St. Louis and Oakland. Will get pinch-hitter Jeremy Reed to bounce into an inning-ending double play Sunday afternoon.
Renyel Pinto (L): Not only is he the only Renyel in major league history, but there's only been one other Pinto; a reliever for Philadelphia in 1922 and 1924. Situational lefty who likes to give up home runs. Will give up an RBI single to Carlos Delgado in the seventh inning tonight.
Logan Kensing (R): Averaging a baserunner and a half per inning in his 127-inning major league career. Yes, he's the only Kensing in major league history, and already the most successful of the three Logans. Middle name is "French," after the actor French Stewart. Will pitch one scoreless inning tonight.
Leo Nunez (R): Had something of a breakout season for the Royals last year. Acquired in the Mike Jacobs deal, Nunez throws hard, and we could see a lot of him this year. Will pitch a scoreless inning on Saturday, then give up a RBI single to Brian Schneider on Sunday.
Dan Meyer (L): Made his major league debut against the Mets in 2004, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a 7-0 Braves loss, and has been otherwise worthless since then. Will walk Carlos Delgado on Saturday night.
Andrew Miller (L): Top pitching prospect who's actually their fifth starter, but won't be needed this time around, so he's in the pen.
Hayden Penn (R): Just acquired from the Orioles on April 1 for Robert Andino; has not pitched out of the bullpen since 2004, when he was in A-ball.
Shooting At The Sun
Leadoff hitter Emilio Bonafacio won the third-base job this spring over Dallas "42 Home Runs" McPherson, and broke out of the box in a big way, hitting the first Opening Day inside-the-park home run in 41 years on Monday over the head of Lastings Milledge (HA!). Bonifacio (Spanish for "tarted last season with Arizona, was dealt to Washington for Jon Rauch, then dealt to Florida this spring for clinically insane RHP Scott Olsen.
The Magnificent Seventh
Sure, you know about Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida, but leftfielder Cody Ross has hit seventh in the first three games for manager Fredi Gonzalez, and is 1 for 12 on the season. He's hit the Mets hard -- although most of his success has come against Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez, who he'll miss this weekend. He had a great series at Shea in May 2008, hitting three home runs and driving in six over two games.
Bang!
1B Jorge Cantu, who came back from baseball purgatory to hit 29 home runs and lead the Marlins in doubles and RBIs in 2008, is tied for the NL lead with 2 home runs. He is the fifth Marlin to hit home runs in the team's first two games of the season, and the first since Cliff Lee in 2002.
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