Mets not sure who will start Game 1

The New York Mets are running out of healthy pitchers at the worst possible time.

Already missing Pedro Martinez, the NL East champions suddenly might have to replace scheduled starter Orlando Hernandez in Game 1 of the playoffs because of a calf injury, too.

El Duque felt discomfort in his right leg while he was jogging in the outfield Tuesday as the Mets tuned up for their first-round series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 40-year-old right-hander was pulled off the field and went for an MRI exam.

"Obviously, we're up in the air on who's our starter tomorrow," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "We have some options, obviously, but we'll wait and see how he feels first and then we'll make a decision."

Those options are limited, however. Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is out until next summer because of calf and shoulder injuries.

Tom Glavine, slated to start Game 2, pitched Saturday in Washington. So if the Mets want to bump him up, the 40-year-old lefty would be working on only three days'
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rest.

Steve Trachsel, who went 15-8 with a 4.97 ERA this year, skipped his scheduled outing last weekend to attend to a family matter on the West Coast. He was due back in New York on Tuesday evening, but Randolph said the right-hander probably wasn't an option to pitch thisafternoon in Game 1 on such short notice.

Randolph didn't even think Trachsel had been throwing while he was away from the team.

That left rookie right-hander John Maine as a possibility. Maine was 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA in 16 games this season, including 15 starts.

But he obviously lacks the October experience the Mets were counting on with Hernandez, acquired from Arizona in May. El Duque is 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 19 career postseason games.

N.Y. Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies.

Wednesday June 14th, 06. 7: 05 e.t.
Citizens Bank Park.



Phillies are visiting the New York Mets, after playing as visitors also at Washington and wining a great game, against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-1 on Tuesday June 7.

With 31 wins and 27 losses at the moment, this team that comes in second in the NL East Standings, goes to N.Y without C Mike Lieberthal due to a sore left hip. Now it is time to think of the up coming game against the Mets. Rumors say the Phillies could use outfielder Shane Victorino as a bargaining chip if they attempt to upgrade the roster for a run at the playoffs. It’s not only this coming game that’s important to win, it is the upward look for the play offs that is appealing and they must play with all they have to for a chance at the end of the regular season. Playing against the top team is not going to be easy but they have to go and play hard for the win.

Line up: 1.Sal Fasano, catcher. 2. Ryan Howard, 1st B. 3. Chase Utley, 2nd B. 4.David Bell, 3rd B. 5. Jimmy Rollins, SS. 6. Pat Burrell, L F. 7. Aaron Rowand, CF. 8. Bobby Abreu, RF. 9. Brett Myers, S P.

New York, is has some important injuries that must be taken into consideration for this up coming game. Unfortunately, outfielder Cliff Floyd and shortstop Jose Reyes were injured and both listed as day-to-day. Floyd sustained a sprained left ankle running the bases in the second inning at Los Angeles, last week. He was replaced by Endy Chavez. Reyes was scratched from the starting lineup after complaining of soreness in his right wrist. X-rays were negative. Reyes was replaced by Chris Woodward.
Sports betting fans are keeping tabs on any changes in the line up for this game. All teams want to keep their players healthy, in good condition to play; they know this is very important for winning a game. Now, we will see how they overcome these injuries and hopefully, the starting line up could be as close as what we have seen from the Mets, in past games.

El Duque shuts down Diamondbacks

PHOENIX -- If Orlando Hernandez had pitched like this more often, Arizona might never have traded him.
Fortunately, El Duque was wearing the Mets' blue and gray on Thursday evening as he shut down his former Diamondbacks teammates in a complete-game 7-1 victory in the opener of a four-game series at Chase Field.
In nine starts for the D-Backs earlier this season, Hernandez (4-5) showed occasional spurts of dominance, but he was usually very inefficient, racking up high pitch counts early and struggling to go deep into the game. He managed to pitch into the seventh inning only once.
Not only did he pitch into the seventh inning this time out, he pitched his first complete game in almost six years -- the last coming while a member of the Yankees in September 2000 -- and is the first Met to go the distance this season. He allowed just one runner to reach third base in his first eight innings, and only a Chad Tracy sacrifice fly in the ninth prevented the shutout.
Was there a little something extra tonight for Hernandez, considering his opponent?
"Yeah, I think so," said manager Willie Randolph. "He's a competitor. Anytime you pitch against your former team, it's a little nicer."
Regardless of whether or not the motivation of pitching against a team that traded him just two weeks ago was a factor, Hernandez peppered the strike zone early on with his usual assortment of offerings, speeds and arm angles.
"This is the type of guy that we usually run the pitch count up on," said Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin, "but to his credit, he was throwing his breaking ball for a strike and teasing us with the fastball a little bit."
Hernandez allowed just three hits and two walks in the game, while striking out three and throwing 114 pitches.
He said simply: "I was happy with [the job I did] today."
Meanwhile, the Mets offense gave El Duque all the help he would need early, building a 5-0 lead after three innings, highlighted by Carlos Beltran absolutely turning on a Claudio Vargas (6-3) fastball for a 428-foot three-run homer.
Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin knew better than anyone what Hernandez's splits were this season. Entering the game, El Duque was allowing left-handed hitters to bat .372 with a .726 slugging percentage against him. However, he had been able to stymie right-handed bats to the tune of a .213 average and .370 slugging percentage.
Melvin stacked the deck as much as he could, with four southpaw swingers and four switch-hitters. In fact, only the pitcher, Vargas, batted from the right side.
But in this game, it didn't matter one bit.
"They know I sometimes have problems with lefties," said Hernandez. "I had good luck today."
"He pitched well," said Tracy. "He was mixing it up. There were a lot of balls hit right at people. We just couldn't get anything strung together."
Hernandez had just a whiff of trouble in the third inning, when Vargas hit a one-out double and Craig Counsell followed with a walk. Jeff DaVanon grounded out and Tracy flied out to end the threat.
"He hit his spots, he used his curveball effectively and kept the hitters off-stride," said Randolph. "It was a nice balance of pitching, and that's when he's most effective."
"He throws [the curve] a lot slower than the fastball, so it makes the fastball look a lot harder than it actually it is," said Tracy. "You've got to kind of be in-between, because he'll throw it in any count."
One might think that spending close to four months with a team, from Spring Training until he was traded on May 24, might have given Hernandez a little bit of an edge in knowing the Diamondbacks hitters, but he did not agree with that assessment.
"I don't know their hitters that much. I just worry about pitching," said Hernandez.
Randolph said it simply came down to a crafty veteran pitcher using all the tools at his disposal.
"To me, it was vintage El Duque, and hopefully he can continue that," said Randolph. "He got ahead in the count and used the hitters' aggressiveness against them. They're an aggressive team, a fastball-hitting team, so I had a feeling if he could get ahead and use his off-speed stuff, he would be effective, and that's pretty much the way it played out.
"El Duque did his thing tonight."

Mets fall to Giants

A Rookie Helps the Marlins Take Down a Mets Goliath

For all their pluck and spunk, the Florida Marlins, the majors' youngest team, entered Friday night's game at a monumental disadvantage. Their lineup boasted a combined 10 plate appearances against the Mets' ace, Pedro Martínez, and had recorded only one hit.
For all their talent and payroll, the Mets have proven unsuccessful in solving young pitchers. Their lineup boasted a combined zero plate appearances against the Marlins' impressive rookie starter, Josh Johnson. Martínez and Johnson matched each other nearly pitch for pitch through six innings. Johnson retired the Mets in an uneventful seventh. Martínez served up more hits to begin the seventh (three) than he had until that point (two), and the Marlins capitalized, scoring the go-ahead run in a 5-1 victory at Dolphin Stadium. After Martínez left, the Marlins in the eighth pounced on reliever Duaner Sánchez, who allowed three runs, one unearned, and did not record an out until the inning's sixth batter. The Marlins, coming off a sweep of the Chicago Cubs, defeated a likely Hall of Fame pitcher for the second consecutive game. They defeated Greg Maddux on Wednesday, and they will get another chance Saturday, against Tom Glavine.It was Martínez's fifth consecutive start without notching a victory, and his first loss of the season after winning his first five. Martínez struck out 10 Marlins, including every Marlins starter and Dan Uggla twice, and walked none, and he retired 12 consecutive hitters between Miguel Olivo's leadoff homer in the third and Mike Jacobs's leadoff single in the seventh. Martínez entered the seventh having thrown 70 pitches, and was showing no signs of tiring. But Jacobs slapped a line single into right field, and Miguel Cabrera followed with a sharp liner to left field, advancing Jacobs to left. The next hitter, Josh Willingham, squared to bunt, which seemed the prudent decision. Considering how well Martínez was pitching, the Marlins were praying to get a run any way they could. Willingham could not move the runners over, however, and after taking a pitch to even the count at 2-2, he decided to hit away. His next swing connected with a low-and-outside slider, sending the ball hurtling past Martínez's outstretched glove and into center field. The announced crowd of 15,338 (approximately 15,000 were rooting for the Mets), finally had more than just Johnson's effort to cheer. Johnson was masterly in his fifth career start, allowing two hits: Carlos Beltrán's run-scoring single in the first and Paul Lo Duca's single in the fourth. When he departed after the seventh inning, he had recorded eight strikeouts and walked two. The Marlins' bullpen, which had blown four ninth-inning leads in the last week, had no problems shutting down a Mets lineup missing one of its stars, David Wright. Logan Kensing pitched a perfect eighth and Joe Borowski dampened Carlos Delgado's first game back here since his November trade by striking him out with José Reyes on second to end the game. Wright was removed about a half-hour before the game because of back spasms. He was replaced by José Valentín, who became the 132nd player in franchise history to start at third base and was certainly not the first one to go 0 for 3.If possible, Martínez was even better than the 22-year-old Johnson until the seventh inning. Fans around the stadium waved Dominican Republic flags in honor of Martínez, and the chants of "Let's Go Mets" began after Reyes walked to lead off the game. Martínez steamrolled through first-time victims and, before the seventh, befuddled Cabrera and Jacobs. In the first, Jacobs, the former Met, struck out on an unhittable 1-2 changeup, but he did not so much swing at the pitch as throw his bat at it. The bat flew out of Jacobs's hands and up the third-base line. Then, in the fourth, Martínez struck out Cabrera on a pitch that, according to the Marlins' scoreboard pitch tracker, registered 43 miles an hour. While Martínez no longer overpowers hitters the way he once did, that figure seemed ridiculous.

Quarterly Report on Major League Divisional Races (NL WEST)

By Jonathan Wachs
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Now that most teams have played around forty games, let’s look on in the Divisional Races:

NL WEST

Here’s a division where all the teams are in the hunt for the title. Not much has been determined in the first quarter of the season except that the division is not nearly as bad as many thought it would be. All four teams currently have winning records and they are only separated by 2.5 games.

Arizona has been led by Brandon Webb (7-0), who is probably the early leader in the NL CY Young race. Unfortunately, the rest of their pitching staff has about a 6.00 ERA. Jose Valverde (13 saves), Luis Vizcaino (3.38 ERA) and Brandon Lyon have led a bullpen that is improved over last year’s version. After a miserable start, Shawn Green has been on a torrid pace and Chad Tracy was recently rewarded with a $13 million plus contract extension for his fine work. The offense has been a moneyball fan’s dream: Craig Counsell (.387 OBP), Conor Jackson (.372) and Luis Gonzalez (.387) have certainly managed to get on base. Most analysts of the minor leagues rank Arizona near the top of the list and they are going to need to dip into their system to get some rotation help if they are to win the division or compete for the wildcard.

Colorado has been one of this year’s early surprises. One of the best bets in recent years was against the Rockies on the road, but they have dramatically improved this year. The skepticism usually associated with their gaudy numbers are not valid this year as guys like Brad Hawpe who is hitting .340 overall is hitting .383 on the road. Matt Holliday has added 11 dingers and Garrett Atkins has filled out what has been a very productive, albeit no name, middle of the order. In Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook, the Rockies have developed two nice young starters. Brian Fuentes (10 saves, 1.45 ERA) is having his second straight good year. The Rockies appear to finally have a sound plan in place. In a division that will beat up on each other, you can’t count the Rockies out.

The Dodgers have gone the high risk/high reward strategy the last couple of years. Nomar Garciaparra is the perfect example. He has hit .369, but injuries have limited him. J.D. Drew has 8 homers and 33 RBI so far, but don’t you wish wagerweb.com let you bet on whether or not he would make it through the season? Kenny Lofton (.350 OBP) keeps chugging along, but the Dodgers are waiting for Furcal (.244) to get going. Brad Penny has been pitching well (4-1, 2.53), but also has a dicey injury history. Will Eric Gagne be healthy and effective for the second half of the year? Like Arizona, the Dodgers have a strong farm system. Unlike Arizona, they may be willing to trade a few to fill holes.

Most of the attention surrounding the Giants has been around Barry Bonds. The fact that Bonds is hitting close to .250 and still has an OBP close to .500 speaks volumes about the Giants offense, especially without Moises Alou. The starting rotation led by a resurgent Jason Schmidt (3.07 ERA), the recently returned to action Noah Lowry (3.38 ERA) and Jamey Wright (3.38 ERA) have pitched well enough to keep them in contention, but it would seem another bat is needed for them to stay in the race.

The San Diego Padres recently won 15 out of 18, but still appear to be the weakest team in the division. Mike Piazza has hit 6 homers and has hit better of late, but 15 RBI for a cleanup hitter is just not going to cut it. The challenges of Petco aside, this team has a definite power outage. Only Khali Green has joined Piazza in hitting over 5 homeruns to this point. As usual, Brian Giles continues to get on base with an OBP over .400 and Trevor Hoffman (7 saves, 1.20 ERA) and Scott Linebrink (3.27 ERA) lead a strong bullpen.

So it will come down to Arizona’s farm system, Colorado’s youngsters, The Dodger’s health, The Giants pitching and San Diego’s ability to keep doing it with mirrors. Stay tuned.

Quarterly Report on Divisional Races --- NL CENTRAL

By Jonathan Wachs
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

After a few weeks and with some surprises, the NL Central has begun to look a lot more as expected, particularly at the very top.

With a lineup containing the best player on the planet, the Cardinals have recently started to pull away and
seem well on their way to their third straight division title. Pujols’ numbers are mind-boggling (22 homers and 54 RBI). Barring an injury or a stunning slump, he’s practically locked up the MVP Award in May. Underrated David Eckstein has an OBP of .390 and provides the kind of spark few leadoff hitters can match. While injuries and age have slowed Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen to some degree, they are both still dangerous hitters. Juan Encarcion and Yadier Molina have been disappointments, but the rest of the lineup has picked them up so far. Chris Carpenter has continued to pitch like an ace and starters Mark Mulder, Jeff Suppan, and Jason Marquis form a solid rotation that always keeps the Cardinals in the game. After a slow start, closer Jason Isringhausen has rounded into form. Only injuries will keep the Cards from playing in October.

Losers of 10 of their last 15, the “Big Red Mirage” are starting to play like their talent level indicates they should. Bronson Arroyo has been an outstanding acquisition and is obviously thrilled not to have to face those tough NL lineups, but you simply can’t send out such a mediocre starting rotation and expect to stay in the race. I told you a few weeks back to bet against them and those who listened are a bit richer today.

The Astros got off to a hot start before their starting pitching went through a horrid stretch. Roy Oswalt remains one of the league’s top pitchers and Wayne Rodriguez has been a nice surprise, but Andy Pettitte has struggled, Brandon Backe is out for the year, and the rest of the rotation has been inconsistent. Brad Lidge has struggled (mostly with his control), but expect him to turn things around. Morgan Ensberg hit home runs in six straight games early in the year and Lance Berkman would be an MVP candidate in a league without Pujols. Also, very quietly, Brad Ausmus has put together a very good year (.418 OBP). The Astros could stay in the wildcard race and may soon get the kind of help that could rocket them to the finish line.

The Brewers are fun to watch. They lead the majors in home runs, and youngsters Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Bill Hall mix nicely with veterans Geoff Jenkins, Carlos Lee, and Corey Koskie. The only thing is they may be too dependent on getting home runs and they strike out too much. A bit of small ball might help them at times. Getting Ben Sheets healthy would help a rotation that has one underrated star (Chris Capuano) and mostly back-of-the-rotation types. Derrick Turnbow is showing he’s no fluke, but the bullpen lacks depth. This year’s trendy sleeper pick will stay around a while, but ultimately doesn’t have enough for the playoffs.

First the Red Sox, then the White Sox, now the Cu … stop right there. Derrek Lee’s injury has revealed just how impotent the rest of the Cubs lineup is. Juan Pierre has an OBP of .271. Aramis Ramirez is hitting only .231. It’s ugly on the North Side. Greg Maddux’s May has been very different than his April and still no sign of Mark Prior. Dusty Baker must be on edge. No playoffs here, folks.

The Pirates were expected to be an improved team this year, but their starting pitching has failed them. Zach Duke has hit a bit of a tougher time facing teams the second time around, and whatever happened to Oliver Perez, who was thought to be a fast rising star? Not much hope in the Steel City either.

So early on, it looks like it’s the Cards division to lose and the Astros waiting for Roger Clemens to make them serious wildcard contenders.

Fantasy Tip of the Week

By Chris Goudey
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

We are about 1/3 of the way through the 2006 MLB season, and whether you are doing well or are struggling, this is a crucial time. You know what categories you need to improve on and one of the best ways to improve your standing is to pick up guys who have started off slowly but are due to break out. Here is a list of players to target who have had a bad spring but should soon get as hot as the weather: Batters:

Marcus Giles, 2B, Atlanta –He is historically a .300 hitter who is currently hitting .235. He’s a perfect buy-low candidate.

Manny Ramirez, OF, Boston – Usually good for 40 HRs and 130 RBIs, he is currently in single-digits in HRs and very low in RBIs. He is the ONE player who is due to go crazy in the month of June.

Juan Pierre, OF, and Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Chicago Cubs – Both players have seen their value decrease with the injury to Derrek Lee. Pierre isn’t scoring or hitting as well as normal, and Ramirez’s numbers are all down. When Lee returns, watch these numbers start to rise.

Ken Griffey Jr., OF, Cincinnati – IF he can stay healthy, a power surge is coming. Todd Helton, 1B, Colorado – Now over his mysterious stomach ailment, he should be sending many homers into the Mile-High air shortly.

Reggie Sanders, OF, Kansas City – Should be good for at least 15 homers and 15 steals in the upcoming months.

Garret Anderson, OF, LA Angels – The Angels’ offense has been horrible so far, so look for Anderson to have more RBI opportunities as they begin to heat up.

Jeff Kent, 2B, LA Dodgers – Kent is always good for 25 HRs and 100 RBIs, so take advantage now and reap the rewards later. Cliff Floyd, OF, NY Mets – Floyd has really struggled so far, barely batting over .200. That won’t continue.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NY Yankees – Along with Manny Ramirez, he is the highest-profile player on this list. Look for A-Rod to really explode soon. He is too good a player not to.

Jimmy Rollins, SS, and Bobby Abreu, OF, Philadelphia – It’s amazing the Phillies have done as well as they have with two of their biggest players slumping. Abreu is about to bust out, so snag him quickly. Rollins is the best SS in the NL, but you wouldn’t know it judging from his numbers so far. He will hit over .300 and get you at least 20 steals the rest of the way, so grab him now!

Jason Bay, OF, Pittsburgh – He’s already started to break out, but if you can find an owner who isn’t paying attention, go get those 20-25 HRs and 75-80 RBIs that are coming.

Richie Sexson, 1B, and Adrian Beltre, 3B, Seattle – These two were supposed to be the Mariners’ power duo of the future, but it just hasn’t happened….yet. Look for both of these guys to get it together soon and help Ichiro out.

Jim Edmonds, OF, St. Louis – With only 5 HRs so far, Edmonds is a very good candidate to bust out. He’s normally good for 35, so look for him to get at least 25 more for the year…IF he can stay healthy, which is always his biggest issue.

Carl Crawford, OF, Julio Lugo, SS, and Aubrey Huff, 3B, Tampa Bay – All 3 of these guys have had slow starts due to injury (Lugo/Huff) or just a sub-par performance (Crawford). All 3 should start to pick it up together.

Mark Teixeira, 1B-DH, Texas – With only 4 HRs so far, Big Tex is my bet to hit the most homers in the AL from here on out. He is simply too good a player not to have a huge hot streak and in the 100-degree Texas heat, the ball simply flies out of the stadium.

Jose Guillen, OF, Washington – This is a talented player if he can keep his head on straight. He was projected to have 30 HRs and 100 RBIs, so pick him up now and hope he stays on the straight and narrow. The numbers will come if he can.

Obviously not all of these players will break out and start to hit immediately, but they have done much better historically than this year. Next week, I’ll take a look at some pitchers to acquire that fall under the same classification.

The Subway Series: A Wild Ride

Andew Corselli
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

This weekend’s Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets was one for the ages. Not only did the winning team triumph by one run in each of the three games, but the series as a whole was about as exciting as it could possibly have been.

Game 1 on Friday night had blowout written all over it when Randy Johnson gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings pitched. However, the Bronx Bombers battled back against pitcher Jeremi Gonzalez to keep it close. Gonzalez gave up 6 earned runs and 9 hits in only 3 innings pitched. The Yankees kept it close all game, only to have Mariano Rivera lose the game at the bottom of the ninth inning in a dramatic fashion on David Wright’s walk-off single. The game was a nail-biter all the way through and kept fans glued to the game until the final play. At the end of the game, the Mets pulled out a 7-6 victory.

Game 2 on Saturday afternoon was more Yankee-friendly as Mets’ reliever Billy Wagner blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Mike Mussina threw 7 strong innings, giving up 4 runs and 5 hits. Pedro Martinez dominated the Yanks by throwing 7 scoreless innings, striking out 8 batters and giving up only 4 hits. Maybe the Yankees are still Pedro’s daddy, seeing as how the Mets failed to secure the win.

It was Johnny Damon who beat out a potential game-ending double-play ball to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning, capping off a four-run inning and embarrassing Billy Wagner; Wagner had dominated the Yankees during the previous game. Andy Phillips hit an RBI single in the eleventh inning, scoring Miguel Cairo and giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Mariano Rivera struck out the side, including David Wright, Cliff Floyd, and Xavier Nady, in the eleventh to give the Yankees the 5-4 victory and improve his record to 2-3.

Game 2 for the Yankees was a historic win that will not be forgotten anytime soon, but game 3 was an embarrassment that hopefully will not be remembered for very long. Granted the Mets only won by a score of 4-3, but the Yankees went 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on base. Tom Glavine gave up 2 runs, 7 hits, and struck out 4 in 6 innings to give the Mets a victory and record his 282nd win. Aaron Small had a sub-par outing for the Yankees, giving up 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 strikeouts, and walked 1 batter in 4 1/3 innings pitched. The Yankees, for the third straight game, failed to hit a home run.

The Mets won the series 2-1, improved their record to 26-17, and are now preparing to host division rivals Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game series starting on Tuesday. The Mets have a three-game lead over the Phillies for the best record in the NL East. The Yankees’ record now slips to 24-18 as they head up to Boston for a three-game series against their bitter rivals the Red Sox; the Yankees trail the Sox by 1.5 games for the lead in AL East.