Going to be recording some impressions from today's game ... so refresh to keep up.
Bottom First
A little bad luck for Maine with that blown strike call to Ludwick. But in general it looks like he's got nothing.
Pujols demolished that fastball.
Jon Miller isn't into O-P-S ... he calls it OPS.
What an incredible throw by Francoeur!! That's the second amazing throw he's made this year (to my knowledge) ... and let's not overlook the great catch and tag by Barajas.
So Maine, you gave up three lasers and escaped unscathed. You're welcome.
Top Second
Wainwright continues to look excellent. Every time I see that curveball he throws I get a little sad.
Catalanotto with an infield hit! I'll take it.
Francoeur walks again! Are you kidding me?
And Matthews Jr. jumps all over the first pitch curveball. Was he guessing? With a guy who has two great pitches like Wainwright does, I always feel like you should be guessing one or the other on the first pitch.
Hey! Did the Mets and Cardinals decide to switch jerseys tonight? Gotta feel a little bad for Wainwright there -- pitchers never look right when they are throwing off flat ground. Great inning guys.
"I would rather watch AxMen than Jose Reyes" - Dad
Bottom Second
What was that second pitch to Molina just now? A changeup? Because it had some awesome arm-side break on it. It was only 83 mph but I'm a little confused by it.
Me: John Maine looks so skinny
Dad: He looks like he's lost weight since the start of the game
28-pitch inning for Maine, but he did strike out the side. That's so Maine. Though I will say he's looked a touch better tonight.
All I have to say about the top of the third inning is that Frank Catalanotto belongs nowhere near our roster, much less starting, much less at first base, and certainly not batting cleanup. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that he might be the very worst player to bat cleanup for any team in the majors this entire year.
Back at the bottom of the fourth here and man oh man, John Maine is not going to be long for this game. Jon Miller just informed us that of the 95 pitches John Maine has thrown tonight, 23(!!!!) were fouled off.
You have to feel a little bad for Maine, who I believe might be close to being finished with the Mets. Maine is a good guy and he's had some good seasons for us, but he's not the same pitcher he used to be. I don't think that sending Maine to the minors will fix him. I don't think he need fixing. He simply doesn't have the stuff that he used to have.
Maine was always a one pitch pitcher. He had a nice fastball which he used to get a lot of strikeouts with, but he doesn't have it anymore. Sending a player to the minors helps when they need to fix something, work on a secondary pitch, or otherwise. Not when they don't, even at their best, have the stuff to get major league hitters out.
Top Fifth
I love Angel Pagan. He reached base five times last night in the marathon game and now twice tonight as well. Way to dunk that curveball into left field. Also I love listening to Orel Hershiser break the game down -- he does a good job.
Jose Reyes now 0 for his last ten at bats... and oddly enough, third baseman David Freese has caught his last three batted balls.
Alex Cora displays his greatest ability - getting hit by pitch. This is the third time I've seen him get hit this year.
Bottom Seventh
Just some general impressions about Tobi Stoner. He looks alright! I mean, obviously, he's not ever going to dominate or blow people away, but he looks like he could be useful.
His curveball looks good in isolation, but in real life, it is probably too slow to be an out pitch. Hitters could probably adjust to the curveball a couple of times around the league - indeed, tonight, it looks like the Cardinals are already catching on.
Despite all that, he looks like he could be a useful player to keep around.
Adam Wainwright is a man's man. I mean, there really isn't much more to say about it. He's a tall strong guy capable of putting a team on his back. Look at what he did tonight, for instance. The Mets got a couple of cheap runs on him in the second inning and what did he do? He went back out there, pitched aggressively in the strike zone, and kicked ass. He even clobbered a double in the bottom of the eighth.
Pedro Feliciano is another winner. We've discussed how awesome Feliciano is on this website before.
TIME TO SECOND-GUESS JERRY MANUEL!!
Ryota Igarashi just coughed up the home run to Ryan Ludwick. Would you have left Feliciano in the game? I don't know too much about Ryan Ludwick but I think I remember hearing that he's a good fastball hitter. With Feliciano's desire to set up and face both righties and lefties - did he deserve the shot at Ludwick? And what do we know about his tendencies facing same handed hitters?
Top Ninth
Oh well. Your hat is off to Adam Wainwright. He picked up his team big time - and saved their bullpen.
Mets lose their fourth straight series.
Roger, Fonzie writer: "At least this game will clock in under three hours."
Andrew, my cousin: "Mets suck"
Dad: "Great, can we watch AxMen now?"
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