MVN - Most Valuable Network

Hands Down: 3G Edition

Is that title a reference to the Mets winning each of their last three games or to my shiny new iPhone? Honestly, it’s a little bit of both. I’ll admit that I was somewhat preoccupied with setting up the coveted gadget this evening (first order of business: purchasing this application), but I saw enough of tonight’s game to know that I liked what I saw. Strong starting pitching, home runs from the slugging veteran (Carlos Delgado’s 451st career homer) and the light-hitting rookie (Argenis Reyes’s first), and enough of a cushion to make the ninth inning more maddening than legitimately scary.

Thumb: On a night when the Mets received contributions on offense from just about everybody, how does the one member of the starting lineup who didn’t reach base get singled out here? By allowing just one run in seven innings, that’s how. Facing a team that is second in the NL in walks drawn and in fewest strikeouts, Mike Pelfrey struck out five batters while not issuing any walks. Pelfrey has walked just three batters over his last five starts (36 innings); when you remember that his first five starts of the year included 14 walks in 27 1/3 innings it reminds you just how far he’s come over the past couple of months.

Pointer Finger: I often like to say that the best way to neutralize Albert Pujols is to get the guys batting ahead of him out; that way, when he steps to the plate to do his whole being-awesome-at-hitting thing, at least it’s with the bases empty. Naturally, Ryan Ludwick gets a couple of hits tonight and Pujols goes 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Pujols had struck out three times in total over the last 16 games, and the last time he struck out three times in one game was June 2, 2006.

Middle Finger: Uh, Duaner Sanchez? The ninth inning is not a time to face three batters and retire none of them. Stop doing that.

Ring Finger: With the Braves facing the Phillies this weekend, I’m honestly not sure what result to hope for (unfortunately, it is not possible for both teams to lose, although extra-inning marathons that wear out both teams’ bullpens would be nice). A bad weekend by the Braves may push them towards being sellers at the deadline, while a bad weekend by the Phillies would give the Mets a golden opportunity to build a bit of a lead now that they’ve taken over first place. Tonight, the Braves beat up on the Phillies, but anything can happen over the next two days (including Mike Hampton actually throwing pitches in a major-league game, as long as he doesn’t get attacked by a unicorn on the way to the ballpark or something like that).

Pinky Finger: Tonight was Merengue Night at Shea, and you know what that means: Keith spending nearly half an inning gloating about how he’ll be able to beat the traffic on the way home because so many fans will be sticking around for the post-game concert.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Mike Pelfrey, Duaner Sanchez, Hands Down, Argenis Reyes, Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals, Carlos Delgado, Albert Pujols, New York Mets, 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.