metmagic
05-02-2002, 02:15 PM
THE HITTING BUG, that is!! :biggrin:
and the Mets have caught it woo hoo!! :jump:
check out this article from Mets.com..... love it! :dance2:
* * * *
Mets happy to catch this bug
By Rich Draper / MLB.com
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2002/05/01/U589paZP.jpg
Mike Piazza greets Jeromy Burnitz at home following Burnitz's three-run homer Wednesday night. (Paul Connors/AP)
PHOENIX -- There are plenty of evil viruses floating around in the air these days, but the most virulent -- and potentially destructive -- bug is the one sweeping through the New York Mets clubhouse right now.
It's highly contagious, and it appears all players have it.
Not to worry. Doctors are not on call. It's the hitting flu. And is it ever powerful.
The Mets, on a season-high six-game winning streak entering Thursday night's finale of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, have scored 26 runs and smacked 43 hits in their last three games.
It's called contagion, and the "carriers" spreading that hitting germ around Wednesday night in a 7-1 victory over the D-Backs at Bank One BallPark were right-fielder Jeromy Burnitz and center-fielder Joe McEwing.
Burnitz hit a three-run homer in the four-run first inning, while McEwing contributed an RBI triple in the fourth, spearheading a 12-hit New York assault.
"It is big, scoring early," said Burnitz, a long-time Milwaukee Brewer but happy now as a first-time Met. "It's all momentum. You get up early and play relaxed and cruise through the rest of the game. It is contagious when the bats start going -- it tends to spread around the rest of the guys.
"And the pitching here is outstanding," added Burnitz, who saw starters Al Leiter on Tuesday and Steve Trachsel on Wednesday hold the D-Backs to only three hits each game. "I'm out there enjoying it, for the first time ever, watching that happen over and over." And small wonder. The Mets' lineup is loaded, says the seven-year veteran. "Look at their bubble-gum cards," he said with a smile. "There are some great hitters on the team and hopefully we'll keep scoring a lot of runs." McEwing agreed the New York batters are enjoying this time, and he vowed they would ride this hot streak for as long as it lasts, and hopefully help the pitchers should they falter.
"We're having a lot of quality at-bats," said the outfielder. "It is contagious. There's a lot of pros in this locker room and it's gonna click. We've just got to continue to battle and have good at-bats."
With everyone hitting, McEwing said, the pressure is not on any one particular player. Besides, he added, the Mets love giving their pitchers some breathing room.
Meanwhile, don't be surprised if the Mets pitchers go into business selling aerosol cans of compressed Arizona air. The desert-dry, no- sweat, can't-get-a-grip kind.
They say they hate it, but you have to wonder.
Leiter complained from the onset in his win Tuesday that the baseball felt like a cueball and he couldn't hold it properly. It felt funny. Same with Trachsel Wednesday night, yet the duo held the Diamondbacks to one run each night.
Go figure.
Trachsel, who upped his record to 2-3, walked seven batters but still managed to pitch himself out of danger with D-Backs on base. Maybe the humidity was non-existent and he struggled with control, yet he won with relative ease.
"I had lots of trouble gripping the ball," he said. "I couldn't sweat. That's why I wore a jacket on bases (after singling in a run in the fourth inning). I was trying to work up a sweat. You throw five warmup pitches and you're bone dry again. It's something I had to deal with tonight." Mets manager Bobby Valentine praised Trachsel for his outstanding results, even if his pitching seemed erratic at times.
"Steve had a lot of good pitches there, but couldn't locate his fastball that well tonight," said Valentine. "But he made a lot of big pitches with men on base. It's confidence. He's building that, has a nice ERA going, and made pitches when he had to."
In the series wrapup Thursday night, Mets' lefty Shawn Estes (1-2) opposes Miguel Batista (1-1).
* * *
LET'S GO METSIES!!! KEEP IT UP!!!! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
:2guns: :2guns: :2guns:
and the Mets have caught it woo hoo!! :jump:
check out this article from Mets.com..... love it! :dance2:
* * * *
Mets happy to catch this bug
By Rich Draper / MLB.com
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2002/05/01/U589paZP.jpg
Mike Piazza greets Jeromy Burnitz at home following Burnitz's three-run homer Wednesday night. (Paul Connors/AP)
PHOENIX -- There are plenty of evil viruses floating around in the air these days, but the most virulent -- and potentially destructive -- bug is the one sweeping through the New York Mets clubhouse right now.
It's highly contagious, and it appears all players have it.
Not to worry. Doctors are not on call. It's the hitting flu. And is it ever powerful.
The Mets, on a season-high six-game winning streak entering Thursday night's finale of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, have scored 26 runs and smacked 43 hits in their last three games.
It's called contagion, and the "carriers" spreading that hitting germ around Wednesday night in a 7-1 victory over the D-Backs at Bank One BallPark were right-fielder Jeromy Burnitz and center-fielder Joe McEwing.
Burnitz hit a three-run homer in the four-run first inning, while McEwing contributed an RBI triple in the fourth, spearheading a 12-hit New York assault.
"It is big, scoring early," said Burnitz, a long-time Milwaukee Brewer but happy now as a first-time Met. "It's all momentum. You get up early and play relaxed and cruise through the rest of the game. It is contagious when the bats start going -- it tends to spread around the rest of the guys.
"And the pitching here is outstanding," added Burnitz, who saw starters Al Leiter on Tuesday and Steve Trachsel on Wednesday hold the D-Backs to only three hits each game. "I'm out there enjoying it, for the first time ever, watching that happen over and over." And small wonder. The Mets' lineup is loaded, says the seven-year veteran. "Look at their bubble-gum cards," he said with a smile. "There are some great hitters on the team and hopefully we'll keep scoring a lot of runs." McEwing agreed the New York batters are enjoying this time, and he vowed they would ride this hot streak for as long as it lasts, and hopefully help the pitchers should they falter.
"We're having a lot of quality at-bats," said the outfielder. "It is contagious. There's a lot of pros in this locker room and it's gonna click. We've just got to continue to battle and have good at-bats."
With everyone hitting, McEwing said, the pressure is not on any one particular player. Besides, he added, the Mets love giving their pitchers some breathing room.
Meanwhile, don't be surprised if the Mets pitchers go into business selling aerosol cans of compressed Arizona air. The desert-dry, no- sweat, can't-get-a-grip kind.
They say they hate it, but you have to wonder.
Leiter complained from the onset in his win Tuesday that the baseball felt like a cueball and he couldn't hold it properly. It felt funny. Same with Trachsel Wednesday night, yet the duo held the Diamondbacks to one run each night.
Go figure.
Trachsel, who upped his record to 2-3, walked seven batters but still managed to pitch himself out of danger with D-Backs on base. Maybe the humidity was non-existent and he struggled with control, yet he won with relative ease.
"I had lots of trouble gripping the ball," he said. "I couldn't sweat. That's why I wore a jacket on bases (after singling in a run in the fourth inning). I was trying to work up a sweat. You throw five warmup pitches and you're bone dry again. It's something I had to deal with tonight." Mets manager Bobby Valentine praised Trachsel for his outstanding results, even if his pitching seemed erratic at times.
"Steve had a lot of good pitches there, but couldn't locate his fastball that well tonight," said Valentine. "But he made a lot of big pitches with men on base. It's confidence. He's building that, has a nice ERA going, and made pitches when he had to."
In the series wrapup Thursday night, Mets' lefty Shawn Estes (1-2) opposes Miguel Batista (1-1).
* * *
LET'S GO METSIES!!! KEEP IT UP!!!! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
:2guns: :2guns: :2guns: