Sunday, May 6, 2007By Mike Steffanos
Mets 6 - Diamondbacks 3
First of all, a confession. I didn't get a chance to watch a lot of this game, not even listen to it on the radio. Hopefully one or more of the regular readers who saw more of the game will tell me about it in the comments.
Sounds like Jorge Sosa will get at least one more start here, and certainly seems to deserve it. I did watch a couple of his innings this morning and was impressed with the quality of his slider. My impression of Sosa was always of a guy trying to throw his straight fastball through a wall, and I forgot he had such a sharp slider. I pointed out in my profile of Sosa this spring that he only had one minor league season as a pitcher after being converted when he failed as an OF prospect. He looked more like a pitcher than a thrower last night, we can only hope that continues.
Pedro Feliciano had another strong inning without walking anyone. They really need him to step up and be the pitcher he was last year, and this is two encouraging appearances in a row for him. Heilman also has looked better in his two appearances this weekend.
I see Wright had a second consecutive oh-for, dropping his average under .250. I thought he was turning it around at the plate. At least I see he didn't strikeout. Perhaps someone could comment on how comfortable he looked at the plate last night. Back in spring training, if someone showed you these two lines:
.348/.407/.536 4 HR 18 RBI
and said that they reflected what Shawn Green and David Wright would be hitting on May 5, how many of us would have correctly picked which line went with which player?
| Jorge Sosa (1-0) | |||||||||||
| Date | Opp. | IP | R | ER | H | K | BB | HR | ERA | WHIP | Team Result |
| 5/5 | @ARI | 6.1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.84 | 0.95 | W |
| TOTAL (1 Game) | 6.1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.84 | 0.95 | 1-0 | |
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Comments (4)
Sosa looked very good last night Mike. The stat line does not lie. His fastball had zip, though was a little on the straight side, and his slider had some real bite to it. Early in the game he did exactly what you mentioned, trying to throw his fastball through the wall. But as he got over a few effective sliders and changeups, his confidence in both grew and he settled into a nice rhythm.
What impressed me most was how many ground outs he got. He finished with a GO/FO ratio of 9/7 to go with his 3 Ks. Now that's not Brandon Webb territory, but for a guy who has a 0.74 career GO/FO ratio, those are very good numbers. His ability to keep the ball down also kept the D'Backs in the yard. And that too is a major feat for Sosa in Arizona. Giving the Mets 6.1 innings was the icing on the cake.
All in all, he looked like a guy that can contribute as a 5th starter or a Duque fill-in if called upon this season. I hear El Duque might be back by Friday, which would mean either Sosa or Pelfrey are likely to get sent down to New Orleans, but it's nice to know we have reliable depth.
Posted by Salman | May 6, 2007 2:41 PM
mike - sosa looked clearly uncomfortable in the first inning - never thought he would make it through 3 innings, much less 7+...took forever between pitches, kept walking off the mound, but after he got out of it, came back in the second like a new man. kept struggling a bit with the "tough" part of their order, but never gave up a big hit and really did a terrific job overall. left to a standing ovation from the mets fans and even tipped his cap to us...must've been a bit confusing for him why he was been cheered that way in arizona...wright looked fine at the plate - made good contact every time up there...solid effort by all involved...nice to see delgado do something positive...nice game that i never thought we would win with webb on the mound for them...go figure...we'll see what today brings....
Posted by joyce mandelkern | May 6, 2007 2:46 PM
Mike ,
the most impressive thing about Sosa last night was his constant changing of speeds on all his pitches . He had everyone of balance all night . The readings from the radar gun were never the same all game long . And that was with his heat , his slider and his change . When he threw the same pitch back to back he changed speed also . I was impressed !
If he continues the way he pitched last night even after "EL" comes back Sosa will have a place in the bullpen .
The best thing about last night is that the big horse in the middle woke up (Delgado) . Driving the ball the other way deep and up the middle later plus relaxing and taking a pair of walks when they were offered .
Carlos squared is right around the corner !!!
Posted by Eduardo S fernandez | May 6, 2007 4:22 PM
Thanks, everyone, for the scouting reports.
Posted by Mike Steffanos | May 7, 2007 5:38 PM