There was an odd occurrence in the Dodgers 9-1 win over the Mets on Wednesday night which completed the sweep for LA. After striking out Shawn Green to end the top of the 3rd, Brad Penny decided to approach Green at the plate rather than walk off the field. Penny wanted a few words because he thought Green had been relaying signs to the batter from second base after doubling in the first:
"I was a little mad at the time," said Penny. "[Green] was giving pitch location to the hitter from second base in the first inning. When you do that, and you have a reputation for doing that, people are watching you and you take a chance of getting yourself or your team where you shouldn't be."
Naturally, Shawn Green defended himself:
"I was working on my shin guard, and there he was," said Green. "He said I was giving location of pitches from second base, which wasn't true. A little bit of paranoia on their side. If you think someone is stealing signs, you change the signs. It's that simple."
There are a few issues at work here. For one, I think Penny went about it the right way -- which is to say striking out Green rather than dosing him. Secondly, is Shawn Green violating the baseball code here? And does the reputation for relaying signs as Penny puts it, make Green a cheater? Third, Green says Penny was paranoid -- which is entirely possible. The two were teammates on the Dodgers briefly in 2004 after Penny got traded to LA, which means Penny is probably familiar with Green's tricks. Chances are, he could've been looking for something that wasn't there. Finally, one of my favorite aspects of the incident was the way manager Grady Little protected his player. Grady maneuvered his way around the issue after the game, saying that the ex-teammates might have been working on their dinner plans. Little really is a players' manager, and they love him for it.
First it was Moises Alou's quad and knee, which isn't quite healed yet. Then, it was Shawn Green fouling a ball off of his foot and breaking a small bone in his foot. Those are both of Carlos Beltran's flanks in the outfield, so who can blame him if he started to feel a little nervous for his own health, especially with his recent admission that he's played the last month with a little tendinitis (Beltran hit .234 in May after a .356 average in April).
Last night, Beltran was involved in a collision with Giants first baseman Rich Aurilia, and after testing his knee in the dugout unsuccessfully, Beltran left the game with a knee contusion, and is undergoing an MRI today in New York. Beltran admits that he's indeed a little nervous.
"If I feel good tomorrow, I will be there," he said after the Mets' 4-2 win last night, with "there" meaning the lineup. But he acknowledged that he was "scared" because he felt pain in the front and back of his knee after he crossed the base. Later, standing at his locker, he said the pain had gone away, especially in the back. The front felt sore, he said, adding that the knee felt weak.
Beltran, as noted here before, had injury issues in '05, tried to play through them, and had a terrible season. If tendinitis is causing him to bat .234, and if the MRI shows anything close to a DL worthy injury, then maybe it's time to learn from what happened in 2005 and rest him for a couple of weeks. Sure, having an outfield with guys like Endy Chavez, David Newhan, Carlos Gomez, Ben Johnson, Damion Easley, and perhaps Jose Valentin who's currently on a rehab stint in the minors, is going to hurt for 7-14 days. But better to have no Beltran for two weeks in June than have a so-so Beltran for the whole year. Previously on The Fanhouse: The Injuries Mount for Moises Alou
I highly doubt that it was a tribute to former Met and current Brave Chris Woodward (besides, I couldn't find a picture of Barry Lyons without his hat), but the Mets tried a different look for Tuesday's game against San Francisco, as almost all of the Mets shaved their heads before the game.
Not everyone looks great, but then again, it's probably not that big a deal. After all, I said to Billy Wagner about his 'do, "That is one ugly looking cut." His reply was, "Yeah, but I'm rich."
They must have felt they needed to try anything against Giants fireballer Matt Cain, and it worked early as David Wright (who came up with the idea) and Carlos Beltran (who was the apparent barber) had back to back doubles off of Cain as two runs scored. It should be noted that Jose Reyes, who doubled to lead off the game, is one of the four players who did not shave his head (along with Aaron Sele, who has to take family pictures on Thursday, Aaron Heilman, and the fourth player to be revealed below).
Shawn Green did shave his head, and according to Wright during a pre-game interview, he wasn't thrilled with the prospect since he had to shave the hair that he just had styled in Arizona (I hope it wasn't too expensive). Since Green was fifth in the N.L. in hitting coming into the game, it might not have been the best idea to go bald ... and sure enough he went 0-for-4 (paging Delilah ... white courtesy phone).
Tom Glavine, who was the fourth Met player who did not shave his head (but in his in-game interview said that he doesn't think he's going to escape the barber too much longer), won his 294th career game despite giving up a home run to Barry Bonds (who's been bald for years and is now ten home runs away from Hank Aaron).
Minor League Spotlight is the MLB FanHouse's look into baseball's minor leagues. But you probably figured that out already.
Things just keep getting more and more bleak for Lastings Milledge. Already demoted to the minors after Shawn Green caught fire early in the year and kept him out of the lineup, Milledge is now on the shelf for Triple-A New Orleans with a foot injury. From Newsday's On the Mets:
Lastings Milledge was placed on the minor-league disabled list today after he was diagnosed with a strained ligament in his right foot. Milledge was batting .333 (13-for-39) with a double, home run and five RBI in 11 games at Triple-A New Orleans. His seven-game hitting streak ended Monday, when he was forced to leave the game in the second inning because of foot discomfort. Milledge flew back to New York and had further tests, including an MRI, on Wednesday.
That's a tough break for Milledge, who probably figured his year would start out a little different after hitting .367 in spring training. But I guess it just goes to show how much spring training stats really matter. Take Green, for instance: he looked like a mess at the plate when the games didn't matter, hitting .149 in 74 at-bats. Through his first 77 at-bats in the regular season, though, he's hitting .351.
It was an unlikely scenario, made possible by a two out, two strike pinch home run by Damion Easley in the 10th inning. Runners on second and third, Endy Chavez at the dish. What do you do?
Well if there's one thing that we've learned about Endy Chavez, is that he's always capable of a spectacular moment. And while his amazing catch in Game 7 of the NLCS will always be moment number one (unless he does that in a playoff game that the Mets actually win), an extra inning walk-off victory over the Rockies on a drag bunt is pretty sweet.
"I knew the game was over," Chavez said. "After the first pitch I was watching the infielders. I saw that the first baseman and second baseman were playing back there, so I said I'm going to take a chance." The crowd of 38,500 chanted "Endy Chavez! Endy Chavez!" for the reserve outfielder, a fan favorite especially after his incredible catch in Game 7 of the NL championship series last year.
"It's a great feeling," Chavez said.
Easley's heroics can't go unnoticed here. He was facing all-star closer Brian Fuentes, and after swinging and missing a pitch by his eyes, he was down to his last strike. Then he sent the crowd, along with the Mets bullpen, into a frenzy:
"He popped that ball," winning pitcher Joe Smith said. "Everybody in the bullpen went nuts."
Chavez hasn't seen a lot of time in the Mets outfield yet, between the great hitting of Moises Alou and Shawn Green, there hasn't been a lot of chances for Chavez to start or get significant playing time. But as we saw tonight, having Endy Chavez as a bench player is a good problem to have.
And that's probably a good thing in the cold Georgia weather. However ...
It was an ominous sign when Delgado dropped an easy throw from second to let the first Braves batter of the game reach base. He would come around to score to tie the game and give the momentum back to Atlanta after Paul Lo Duca grabbed the lead with a solo home run in the top of the first.
But Green's drop of what was a Matt Diaz sac fly allowed two extra runs to score on subsequent plays in the sixth inning, and instead of 3-2 Braves after six, it was 5-2. That proved to be the difference in a 5-3 Braves win, the Mets' first loss of the season.
Delgado and Green also did good things ... Green was 3 for 5 with an RBI, and Delgado was 2 for 4. Unfortunately their defense overshadowed their bushel of hits, and cost Tom Glavine not only a win over his buddy John Smoltz, but also cost him one step closer to 300 victories.
As teams finalize their rosters in preparation for Opening Day, here's a quick look around the division to see what i's have been dotted and what t's have been crossed today:
Mets: In addition to Chan Ho Park being happily sent to the minors, they've given Lastings Milledge another shot with the big club to start 2007. The combination of Milledge maturing over the off-season and Shawn Green's batting woes made this happen. Reliever Ambiorix Burgos also makes the team as a result of Park going down, which means I'm going to have to commit the spelling of "Ambiorix" to memory.
Braves: Kyle Davies and Martin Prado have been sent down to Richmond. Davies has shown some inconsistency while the Braves have enough confidence that Lance Cormier's shoulder has improved to the point where he could be the fifth starter. Prado had a good spring, but the second base job has always been Kelly Johnson's to lose, and the Braves have Pete Orr and Chris Woodward to back up.
Marlins: Sergio Mitre, after missing most of the '06 season, will start the Marlins home opener while Ricky Nolasco will start the season in the bullpen. It's a temporary arrangement, but the original plan was reversed to start the season ... both will eventually be starters. Also, 37-year-old Jason Wood, with 81 career major league at bats (as opposed to 6,434 minor league at-bats), has made the team as a utility infielder.
A few weeks back, we read that Shawn Green had been studying video of his old swing, and that Carlos Delgado was predicting that his teammate would revert to form this year. I assumed at the time that "revert to form" meant turn back the clock to Green's heyday with the Dodgers and Blue Jays, but now I'm wondering if he was studying old Little League film -- nothing about Green's current swing suggests that he made any sort of adjustments with big-league pitchers in mind.
With Opening Day right around the corner, Mets manager Willie Randolph now has a potential controversy on his hands: does he stick with the aging veteran who's done nothing but point to his resume to win a starting job? Or does he give the nod to the upstart youngster who's been pounding out base hits all month? Right now, it's too close to call. From the New York Post:
"I'm going to keep an open mind about what I see towards the end of camp," Randolph said. "But yeah, Green is my right fielder. That's always subject to change no matter what you do.
"We have another week to 10 days to go, and things could possibly change."
Randolph said there could be a right-field platoon, presumably with Lastings Milledge, early in the season.
"I'm just going out and playing," Green said. "That's all I can do."
Green is hitting .154 in 52 at-bats this spring. Milledge, on the other hand, is batting .370 in 46 at-bats.
My money is on the veteran holding the job for at least the first month of the season, but I won't be surprised to see Milledge rewarded for his hot spring with a roster spot. Yes, Milledge might be better of playing every day at Triple-A Norfolk from a practical standpoint, but by the same token a demotion at this point might mess with his confidence, suggesting that really nothing he does will actually factor into the team's decision. And fortunately for Milledge, the schedule works in his favor as well, as the team will only need four starting pitchers for the first two weeks, providing the extra roster spot he'd need to stay in the big show.
That's not a headline that's going to instill any confidence in Met fans. But sometimes, you have to get back to basics.
Shawn Green's power numbers have declined over the last few seasons. Back in February, Green found a hand hitch in his swing, and he thought all was well. However, Green started off the spring 0 for 13. So much for self help.
Green spent an extra hour hitting on the main field with Carlos Beltran, Julio Franco and hitting coach Rick Down providing suggestions. Green's swings were recorded by a high-tech video system called Pro Mirror, which was set up with a monitor that allowed Franco and Beltran to point out adjustments in Green's swing as they were being made.
"I can honestly say today was my most productive day this spring," Green said. "It was about getting in a good hitting position - a more powerful hitting position. The video helped, but I was more interested in listening to Carlos and Julio and what they had to say. I thought I had hitting figured out five or six years ago and now I'm learning how to hit."
It's worth noting that Green got his first hit of the spring on Thursday after "learning how to hit" from Carlos and Julio ... but he also made the final out of an 8-7 Mets loss to Baltimore. If Green gets desperate, could Tom Emanski's hitting drills be far behind?
There was an odd occurrence in the Dodgers 9-1 win over the Mets on Wednesday night which completed the sweep for LA. After striking out Shawn Green to end the top of the 3rd, Brad Penny decided to approach Green at the plate rather than walk off the field. Penny wanted a few words because he thought Green had been relaying signs to the batter from second base after doubling in the first:
First it was 
I highly doubt that it was a tribute to former Met and current Brave Chris Woodward (besides, I couldn't find a picture of Barry Lyons without his hat), but the Mets tried a different look for Tuesday's game against San Francisco, as almost all of the Mets 
It was an unlikely scenario, made possible by a two out, two strike pinch home run by Damion Easley in the 10th inning. Runners on second and third, Endy Chavez at the dish. What do you do?
And that's probably a good thing in the cold Georgia weather. However ...
As teams finalize their rosters in preparation for Opening Day, here's a quick look around the division to see what i's have been dotted and what t's have been crossed today:
A few weeks back, we read that Shawn Green had been studying video of his old swing, and that 
That's not a headline that's going to instill any confidence in Met fans. But sometimes, you have to get back to basics.
