June 9, 2008

Home games: Mets in the hot box vs. Arizona, Texas

NewYorkology contributor Scott Ross keeps you abreast of upcoming Mets and Yankees home games in New York City. Ross toils in anonymity for a giant online news aggregator. Here's your look at major league baseball in New York City this week:

The Mets lost five of seven last week and now find themselves at 30-32, seven and a half games out of first place. Incredibly, painfully, three of those losses were consecutive 2-1 defeats. Clearly the culprit is an offense that is in a collective freefall, averaging 3.5 runs per game over that span, while batting .228/.301/.312. The loss of Ryan Church to his second concussion of the year has hurt. Even David Wright, usually the steadiest of Mets, has fallen victim to the malaise, hitting .185/.273/.185, without an extra-base hit since May.

This latest swoon has also laid bare General Manager Omar Minaya’s greatest shortcoming this season, the anemic bench he assembled. It’s tough to compete when players like Damion Easly and Fernando Tatis -- both well past their sell-by dates – get regular playing time. Of course Minaya can’t be held accountable for the injuries that have struck his team, but he is on the hook for the men tabbed to fill in.

Unfortunately the Metropolitans have another tough week ahead of them, playing host to one of the best pitching staffs in the NL and one of the best offenses in the AL.

Micah Owings, Tuesday’s starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks, is a career .300 hitter, with five home runs in only 99 at-bats. And he ain’t too a bad pitcher, either. Wednesday the Mets face Brandon Webb, arguably the best pitcher in the NL, who is making a strong bid for his second Cy Young award in three years.

The Rangers are tops in the AL in scoring with 5.5 runs per game and their offense is led by two of the more improbable stories in baseball. Josh Hamilton spent much of his early 20s battling injuries, drug addiction and surviving a handful of suicide attempts. This season he became the first AL player ever to be named Player of the Month in April and May of the same year.

Of course, if this weather holds, one shouldn’t forget that the five boroughs are teeming with bars that have both air conditioning and flat screen TVs. Oh, and the Yankees are playing the finale of a four-game set against the Royals today.

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees
Monday @ 1:05 Luke Hochevar (3-5) vs. Mike Mussina (9-4)

Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets
Tuesday @ 7:10 Micah Owings (6-4) vs. John Maine vs. (6-4), Dunkin Donuts gift card night
Wednesday @ 7:10 Brandon Webb (11-2) vs. Mike Pelfry (2-6),
Thursday @ 1:10 Dan Haren (6-4) vs. Johan Santana (7-4)

Texas Rangers at New York Mets
Friday @ 7:10 Scott Feldman (1-2) vs. Oliver Perez 4-4), beach towel night
Saturday @ 7:10 Doug Mathis (2-1) vs. Pedro Martinez (1-0), stadium replica day
Sunday @ 1:10 Kevin Millwood (4-3) vs. Mike Pelfry (2-6), Father’s Day travel mug day

Next Week:The Yankees play host to the Cincinnati Reds and the San Diego Padres while the Mets visit the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Colorado Rockies.

Tickets to Yankees games can be purchased here. See NewYorkology's guide to Yankee Stadium for the rundown on how to get there, where to meet, eat and eventually, sit.

Tickets to Mets games can be purchased here, while directions for getting to and around the stadium are also available. (The New York Water Taxi will not be running the Mets Express to Shea during the 2008 season but Rocks Off Concert Cruises and Seastreak are hitting some games.)

Image source: Forever Collectibles New York Mets Garden Gnome

June 9, 2008 10:25 AM in Kids, Out of Manhattan, Sports

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