Mack Attack: August 5, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Carlos Delgado is playing his favorite winter pastime on Friday afternoon in the visitors' clubhouse, on a dominoes board teammate Ramon Castro just had custom made for him in Miami, which is inscribed with a Puerto Rican flag and the words mi orgullo - my pride. Just a month ago, Delgado's pride undoubtedly was being tested. He opened July with a .228 average, having been dropped as low as No. 7 in the lineup, where he hadn't appeared in more than a decade. Now, Delgado is batting cleanup, having displaced Carlos Beltran. He is a serious contender for National League Player of the Month for July. And a $12 million team option for 2009 that seemed a no-brainer to decline not too long ago might actually prove a worthwhile investment, especially considering the Mets otherwise must pay a $4 million buyout. – NYDN via Metsiac

The Mets are preparing for the likelihood that Billy Wagner could miss a decent chunk of time. That's why they brought up Eddie Kunz, who has the pedigree to close games in the majors after doing so with an NCAA World Series championship team at Oregon State. "It's not really a different game," Kunz said. "Yeah, there's more fans, and other stuff, but it's still baseball. You still get three outs. I'm still out there on the mound trying to do my job." In his major-league debut yesterday, Kunz pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit (Darin Erstad's bunt single). -- Newark Star-Ledger

Zephyrs:

Zephyrs trainer Brian Chicklo has been voted Pacific Coast League trainer of the Year by his peers. He’s now eligible for the national minor-league award – NYN

Jonathan Niese had his second strong performance in as many Triple-A starts, yielding two runs on six hits in six innings Monday as the New Orleans Zephyrs beat the Las Vegas 51s, 3-2.

Niese, called up from Double-A Binghamton last week, walked two and struck out two to improve his record to 2-0.
He fell behind early, giving up two runs in the second inning when Luis Maza drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Rene Rivera hit an RBI double.

The Zephyrs countered with three runs in the fourth. Michel Abreu had an RBI single, one of his two hits, to cut the 51s lead to 2-1, before Raul Casanova hit a towering drive to right that appeared to have the distance to leave the park. But strong winds from Tropical Storm Edouard kept the ball in play, and Casanova had to settle for an RBI single off the right field wall.
Ramon Martinez, facing his former Las Vegas teammates, then delivered a sacrifice fly that scored Abreu just moments before Casanova was doubled off first base.

B-Mets:

Sal Aguilar, who was 10-3 with a 3.14 ERA at Double-A Binghamton to revitalize his career, will undergo Tommy John surgery later this month to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament in his right elbow – NYN

Shawn Bowman was a highly regarded A-ball third base prospect five years ago, earning accolades comparable to fellow teenager David Wright in the lower levels of the Mets’ minor-league system. Only now has Bowman finally reached Double-A Binghamton, after enduring three seasons of back troubles. Bowman underwent a last-resort surgical procedure last year that involved the removal of a disk, and the insertion of two screws in vertebrae, two screws in the tailbone and a rod to attach them. “First and foremost, it feels great to play every day and not be injured,” said Bowman, who had been limited to a combined 38 games in 2006 and ‘07. “It has been hard because of the prolonged injuries – and the same thing – for the last three years. I always had the confidence this day was going to come. It’s not something I would definitely wish on anybody else. It’s been a trying three years. I just keep telling myself life can’t be fair sometimes. It’s the way it is.” Bowman made his Binghamton debut Tuesday, after hitting .340 in 97 at-bats with St. Lucie. He homered and had two hits and three RBI in the start against Connecticut. He’s since extended a combined St. Lucie/Binghamton hitting streak to 16 games – NYN

Fernando Martinez is described as “very close” to returning to game action following a right hamstring flare-up that has sidelined him since July 24. – NYN

Jonathan Malo hit a go-ahead two-run single in the top of the 12th, as the Binghamton Mets defeated the Bowie Baysox 6-3 in extra innings at Prince George’s Stadium Monday. The win ended Binghamton’s losing streak at two games.

The B-Mets (61-56) went ahead in the second on Caleb Stewart’s solo homer off Chris Tillman. Bowie (67-50) countered with Jonathan Tucker’s game-tying sacrifice fly off Mike Antonini in the third before Reimold’s RBI double in the fourth put the Baysox ahead 2-1.

Binghamton knotted the score in the fifth when Ambiorix Concepcion singled, stole second, moved to third on Salomon Manriquez’s single and scored on Josh Petersen’s base hit to right. However, Matt Wieters homered off Antonini in the sixth to put Bowie on top 3-2.

Malo opened the eighth with a single off Felix Romero and, after being bunted to second by Jose Coronado, scored the tying run on Stewart’s double to left, sending the game to extra innings.

Manriquez and Petersen led off the 12th with singles off Gerardo Casadiego (5-6), with both runners advancing into scoring position on a throwing error. Malo followed with a ground ball single up the middle, bringing in Manriquez and Petersen. After taking second on the throw home and stealing third, Malo scored the inning’s third run on Bowie’s second error of the frame.

Binghamton relievers Casey Hoorelbeke, Tim Lavigne and Elvys Quezada combined for six innings of shutout relief, with Quezada (2-0) tossing the final two frames for the win.

Lucy:

St. Lucie has released P Arthur Santos

Gnats:

Mets execs are excited about the performance of ninth-round pick/Troy native Eric Beaulac out of Le Moyne College in Syracuse. Clocked at 98 mph when he made his first pro start on July 15 with Kingsport, the righthander has advanced to Savannah, where he debuted with five scoreless innings Thursday while recording seven strikeouts – NYN

When the Sand Gnats return home from Augusta on Wednesday night, they will start a four-game home stand and will pass last year’s attendance mark of 91,722 during Wednesday or Thursday’s games against Columbus. It will be the fourth straight year the Sand Gnats have increased attendance at Historic Grayson Stadium. Entering the home stand with Columbus, Savannah has seen 90,766 fans come through the turnstiles at Historic Grayson Stadium. That averages out to 1,592 fans per opening. Minor League Baseball defines an opening as any time a team opens the gates for a game or games. Doubleheaders only count as one opening. The Sand Gnats have 12 home games left this season and if they keep on their current pace, they should surpass the 100,000-fan mark this season. If they get to 100,000, it would be a 70-percent increase over the 2004 season, when Savannah averaged 957 fans per opening and drew a total of 58,379. – sandgnats.com

Clones:

With star players Reese Havens, Zach Lutz and Ike Davis all nursing injuries, the Brooklyn Cyclones knew they needed proper reinforcements to stay in the playoff hunt. Enter 2007 Cyclones infielder and fan favorite JR Voyles. Nicknamed J-RBI last season after hitting .387 with two home runs and 13 RBI through his first nine games last season, Voyles was a crucial member of the Brooklyn offense before injuring his hamstring and enduring a nasty bean ball to the head that limited his production to just three homers and 29 RBI in 49 games. Healthy in 2008, some considered him a sleeper prospect with a future as a utility man at higher levels in the organization. However, before coming to Brooklyn this season, Voyles was struggling in limited duty with the St. Lucie Mets, hitting .216 with only four homers and in 41 games. “There were some older guys in St. Lucie and the organization felt it would be good if I came back,” said Voyles. “I know what my job is here and I’m looking forward to getting more ABs and producing.” - DemBrooklyBums

Ex-Mets:

Xavier Nady had 4 hits, a double, a home run and 6 RBIs

Although Detroit sought bullpen help in a trade for Ivan Rodriguez (who was sent to the Yankees), the Marlins justifiably did not want to deal potential future closer Matt Lindstrom. -- Miami Herald

International League Pitcher of the Week: - Philip Humber, Rochester - 2-0, 2.30 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 19 SO - After a particularly bad start on July 1, one that sent his ERA up to 6.00, the Twins took Philip Humber out of the Rochester rotation for the second time this season. Humber spent more than two weeks in the Rochester bullpen, putting together a scoreless outing in three of his five appearances. Entering this week, Humber -- one of the key pieces in the Johan Santana trade -- had not struck out more than six batters in a start. He had not reached the eighth inning a single time. In two starts this week, Humber accomplished both feats twice, and now has won his last three starts to improve to 7-7 on the season. Since the Triple-A All-Star Break, Humber has allowed just five runs and struck out 25 batters in 22 and 2/3 innings. – MiLB.com

This Day in Mets History:

1985 - Darryl Strawberry belts three home runs helping to beat the Cubs, 7-2, and puts the Mets into first place in the National League East.

And lastly:

Skip Caray, a voice of the Atlanta Braves for 33 years and part of a family line of baseball broadcasters that included Hall of Famer Harry Caray, died in his sleep at home on Sunday, the team said. He was 68 – R.I.P Skipper…