MVN - Most Valuable Network

Game 35 Open Thread: New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds

After splitting a doubleheader yesterday (I will eventually write about the experience of going to a nearly-empty Shea Stadium to watch Bronson Arroyo become the latest struggling pitcher to find himself against the Mets), the Mets look to take the series against the Reds this afternoon as baseball celebrates Mother’s Day with pink bats and wristbands (question of the day: If it is Mother’s Day, and Bill Hall is not facing the Mets, will he still hit a pink-bat home run late in the game?)

Oliver Perez has made seven starts so far in 2008. In three of those starts, he has not allowed any runs. In each of the other four starts, he has allowed at least five runs. There is no question about Ollie’s talent; the issue with him is whether he can harness that talent in any given start. For a reminder of what he is capable of when everything clicks, remember his performance 52 Sundays ago: 8 1/3 innings, two hits, one run. 

In 41 innings, Reds phenom Johnny Cueto has struck out 41 batters and walked just eight. That sort of dominance usually results in an ERA far better than the 5.27 that he currently sports. Cueto has had his issues with the long ball - he has allowed seven home runs over his first seven starts - something that is not surprising given his flyball tendencies and the dimensions of his home park. With nobody on base, opposing batters have hit just .190/.241/.381 against him, but with men on base they are hitting .360/.382/.600, a split that suggests that he has issues with those rare occasions when he needs to pitch from the stretch.

I’ll be spending the afternoon with my parents, so I probably won’t get to see most of the game. Happy Mother’s Day, and Let’s Go Mets!

Links
MLB Gameday
Baseball-Reference Game Preview
Fangraphs Live Scoreboard

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 8:46 am and is filed under Oliver Perez, Game Thread, Johnny Cueto, Bill Hall, Bronson Arroyo, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, 7 Train. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.