Series Recap: Mets Take 3 of 4 From Reigning NL Champion Cardinals

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets

Series Recap, April 21^st-April 24^th

April 21st	Cardinals: 0	Mets: 2
April 22nd	Cardinals: 3	Mets: 0
April 23rd	Cardinals: 2	Mets: 3
April 24th	Cardinals: 1	Mets: 4

Click here for Game 2 Recap

After a rough series against division rival Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets were able to bounce back nicely against reigning NL Pennant winning St. Louis Cardinals. For fans of offense, this one was a tough one to watch, but there was outstanding pitching throughout from both sides. Being able to take three out of four from the Cardinals is an impressive feat for the Mets, and should give them plenty of confidence heading into their weekend series with the Miami Marlins. The Mets record now sits at 12-10, with a 6-7 record at Citi Field.

-Positives

The pitching staffs, namely the starting pitchers, have continued to be dominant for the Mets. They are in the midst of an outstanding run in which they have allowed three or less earned runs, a streak that now sits at 10 games. During that 10-game span, the Mets starting pitchers have allowed only 13 earned runs in 63.2 innings, which equates to an ERA of 1.84. Only one pitcher over that span has failed to last at least six innings.

 

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

That one pitcher who was unable to go six innings was Jenrry Mejia, who was forced from his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a nasty blister. Mejia was not forced to miss any starts, which is a good thing for the Mets as he is dealing right now. Mejia pitched the series opener, and dominated the Cardinals over 6.2 innings. Mejia ran his season record to a perfect 3-0 with a sparkling ERA of 1.99.

Travis d’Arnaud is clearly the starting catcher for the Mets, but Anthony Recker is making a case to get some more playing time. d’Arnaud performed better at the plate against the Cardinals, but not to the level where it should keep Recker on the bench. Recker is not only hitting more than d’Arnaud, but he is also calling outstanding games behind the plate. In games Recker catches, the Mets pitching staff sports a 2.78 ERA and .204 batting average against.

It isnt much, but Curtis Granderson actually ended the series getting hits in the final two games. With how much he has struggled this season, anything positive like that needs to be pointed out. He reached base the final three games of the series, walking in the second game once. The Mets offense has been anemic all season, and a big reason for that is the lack of production from Granderson. The Mets need him to start producing consistently and help get the offense on track.

-Negative

 

Al Bello/Getty Images

After having his 12-game hitting streak snapped in the shutout loss Tuesday, Wright now is on a three-game hitless streak. After going 1-4 in Game 1, Wright was unable to give any production for the Mets the final three games. The Wright finished the series with an ugly 0-11 performance, with five strikeouts. The Mets just have not been able to get everyone on the same page offensively this season, further emphasizing just how impressive their pitching staff has been.

Jets 2014 Schedule Announced

ganggreennation.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 23rd, 2014

New York Jets 2014 Schedule

After a surprisingly good 2013 season for the New York Jets, Rex Ryan is back with a few new weapons to play with on offense, as expectations for the new season are now getting the Jets back into the playoffs. On Wednesday night the new schedule has been released, and the Jets have the ninth most difficult strength of schedule in the NFL based on last season’s win percentage.

Preseason:

Week 1: Jets vs. Colts, Thursday, August 7th

Week 2: Jets at Bengals, Saturday, August 16th

Week 3: Jets vs. Giants, Friday, August 22nd

Week 4: Jets at Eagles, Thursday, August 28th

Raptors Defeat Nets to Even Series

nba.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 22nd, 2014

Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors Game 2 Recap

Final Score: Nets 95 Raptors 100

The Brooklyn Nets after a big Game 1 win in Toronto fell a little short in Game 2 against the Toronto Raptors. In what was really a must win game for the young Raptors, not wanting to head to Brooklyn down two games in the series, but they avoided that and tied the series at a game a piece with the victory.

Player of the Game: Joe Johnson

Once again for the Nets their best player against the Raptors was Joe Johnson, who led the Nets in scoring in the Game 2 loss. Johnson finished with a team-high 18 points on seven for 13 shooting to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Most of Johnson’s damage came in the third quarter, as he scored 12 points in the Nets best quarter of the game. In the fourth quarter however Johnson did struggle against Landry Fields, in what was a change in the Raptors rotation that we will likely be seeing again in Game 3.

Mets Blanked By Cardinals Behind Adam Wainwright

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Tuesday, April 22^nd, 2014

St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets

Post Game Recap

William Perlman-The Star-Ledger

The New York Mets had the script flipped on them from Monday night’s game, when they shut the St. Louis Cardinals out 2-0 behind a strong performance from Jenrry Mejia. Tonight, the shut out was in the Cardinals favor, as they shut the Mets offense down behind a dominant performance from their ace Adam Wainwright.

Wainwright was dominant against the Mets, tossing seven shutout innings on only 79 pitches. He was forced from the game after he finished the seventh inning because of a hyper-extended right knee, but he had done more than enough to get his team the victory. Only four Mets reached base against Wainwright, and only one player even reached second base. The Mets had only two players get to second base all night.

This was the second straight lights-out performance for Wainwright, as he tossed a two-hit shutout against the Mets division rival Washington Nationals his last time out.

Mike Woodson Fired as Head Coach of Knicks

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725

On Monday, the New York Knicks announced that they have fired head coach Mike Woodson, ending his 26-month run leading the team. President Phil Jackson did not stop there, as the entire coaching staff was relieved of their duties, as Jackson looks intent on cleaning house and overhauling the whole thing.

Howard Simmons/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The firing of the whole staff is something that could be looked at as a positive. It is a sign that James Dolan is not meddling in the decision making yet, as Herb Williams is even being relieved of his duties this time around. Williams was the longest tenured coach on staff, and had the longest tenure of any assistant on the bench in Knicks history. He was able to stick around through the tenures of six different coaches, a clear sign that he was a Dolan guy, as assistant coaches change in the NBA pretty regularly. It may not be looked at as a big deal by some, but it is definitely a move that will raise the eyebrows of some and should be looked at as a positive, as Jackson, for now, looks to have the full autonomy Dolan promised.

Now onto Woodson…

Yankees Split 4-Game Series with Rays

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Series Recap

April 17th: Yankees 10 Rays 2; Click here for Game 1 Recap

April 18th: Yankees 5 Rays 11; Click here for Game 2 Recap

April 19th: Yankees 1 Rays 16

April 20th: Yankees 5 Rays 1

The New York Yankees were able to head down to Tampa Bay in a four-game series against the Rays, and leave with a split despite giving up double-digit runs in two of the games. They will are now (11-8) on the season, which is good enough to be on top of the AL East.

Positives:

 In two of the four games the Yankees got really good starts from their Starting Pitchers, as C.C Sabathia and Vidal Nuno both turned in good outings. In Sabathia’s start the Yankees were able to grab the victory for him, which was his second of the season after seven strong innings allowing just two runs, only one of which was earned. Nuno didn’t have the same luck, as he left the game after five shutout innings, but had the bullpen blow the one-run lead he left with in the seventh inning.

Alfonso Soriano was the Yankees best hitter in the four games against the Rays, as he went seven for 16 at plate with one homerun, three RBIs, four runs scored, and two runs scored.

On Sunday the Yankees got to see the return of Mark Teixeira, who has missed most of the season, but was able to rejoin the team and have a pretty good first game back, which is important for a weak Yankees infield. Teixeira went two for six in the 12 inning game on Sunday.

Negatives:

bleacherreport.com

In the Yankees rough loss on Saturday against the Rays they may have suffered a major blow to the starting rotation, as Ivan Nova left the game in the fifth inning with pain in the elbow, and placed on the disabled list very quickly after. The MRI after the game showed that Nova had a partially torn UCL, which usually requires Tommy John surgery. The typical recover time for such a procedure is 12-18 months. Nova will be looked at again in New York, but it certainly doesn’t look good for the Yankees young Starter.