Hot Dogs and Apple Pie

Oh, yes!  Today, April 26, 2006, I got a baseball game like I like them.  It was a little higher scoring than I care for, but the Mets won, which is a very good feature, and it featured some terrific defense and exciting offense.

Rookie Brian Bannister has been throwing 100 pitches in five inings so far in his starts.  Today he only got to 86 because he strained a hamstring running the bases.  That’s right, the Mets pitcher had two doubles, drove in two runs and sore the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.  He came up lame as he got to third base, but staggered home to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.  Bannister toughed it out with a busted leg better than many everyday players, who would have taken the opportunity to sit down on third base. 

That wasn’t the only highlight.  Rickey Henderson (I told you there were hot dogs) was in attendence as he is helping coach Jose Reyes on the fine art of leading off.  Reyes walked to lead off the game, gave Rickey a wave of acknowledgement, and got picked off.  It’s a work in progress.  Reyes also got two hits and two walks, each time giving a wave to Rickey.  Reyes stole two bases as well.  It was a great performance from Jose.  Hopefully, Rickey can keep up the encouragement.

They interviewed Rickey, and Rickey was asked about teaching Jose to be more patient.  Rickey said (and I am paraphrasing here) “no, that isn’t Jose’s game.  He’s a contact hitter, and we talk about him swinging at better pitches.” It was interesting.  Yes, I know swinging at better pitches means better plate discipline but let’s not nitpick.  Reyes may have more luck with more regular interaction with Rickey.

It was just a fun game.  Carlos Delgad-it, hitting a long bomb into the bay.  Floyd hit the ball hard a few times.  Ramon Castro got three hits *again*.  Endy Chavez bunted almost every PA.  David Wright struggled some - both in the field and at the plate, but he did double and walk.  Julio Franco singled *and* stole a base - the oldest player to steal since Arlie Latham in 1909.  Latham stole his base, ironically, on the day/year Franco was born.

The Mets got 17 hits.  This was just a day after getting 10 hit.  They are hitting again, and that should spell truble for upcoming opponents.

On the flip side, Aaron Heilman had an inning of great relief, and an inning of not so great relief.  Duaner Sanchez was outstanding.  Chad Bradford looked good.  Darren Oliver gothe win with some good work as well.

The apple pie portion of the program was courtesy of Billy Wagner against Barry Bonds with two outs in the ninth and the Giants down by two runs, and a runner on second.  Wagner brought heat, and Bonds brought maple.  Bonds hit one to the power alley for a home run, number 711, to tie the game and send it to bonus frames.  Mmmmmm, nice warm apple pie à la mode.

It’s no secret that I am a Bonds fan, and a Mets win where Bonds hits a significant blast, both historical and within the context of the game is just fantastic for me.  fortunately I was TiVoing the game while I watched and could replay that home run a few times. 

Those of you that think Bonds’ knees are going to be too torn up for him to get around or be productive, I hope the last few games have given you cause to re-think that.  He’s one of the all-time greats, and I expect him to lead the league in OPS+ this year.  All he needs is 502 PAs, and he looks good enough to do it. 

On the downside, with Bannister out, I don’t know who is going to take his slot if he can’t.  Could be Heilman, but I hope not.  Could be Jose Lima, but I hope not.  I’m not sure there are any good options.  Bannister has won ugly, but he’s won, and he swings the bat well.

Darren Oliver and Tom Glavine are pretty good hitting pitchers.  I think it’s a cool feature of this year’s team.  I would use Oliver as the occassional pinch-hitter.

I hope you get the chance to watch today’s game.  It was outstanding and had me cheering quite a bit.