sportsjabber.net

WOW! What a series so far as the New York Mets are going for the Sweep at Fenway Park on Sunday. It’s going to be a battle of Tims today as the Mets’ Tim Redding will make his 2nd start of the season against Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. The Mets will likely again be without base-stealer Jose Reyes and some other banged-up ballplayers but this will be a very important game for them nevertheless. Gunning for a sweep at Fenway is no easy task, and the Mets have the opportunity to do just that today. The Red Sox on the other hand want to avoid the sweep and give themselves an opportunity to start their own winning streak.

Tim Redding looks to shore up his rotation spot after coming off a strained rotator cuff and a six week absence from meaningful baseball. This will not be a particularly hard task for him if he pitches at least decently. This is an opportunity he needs to relish, both for his sake and that of anxious Mets fans and management who have been looking for solid pitching behind Johan Santana for this entire season. Could Redding solidify the rotation on his own? Probably not. But this start will be huge in assesing just what kind of role he can have in terms of his impact toward a solid rotation. In his first start against the Los Angeles Dodgers Redding gave up two hits and 4 walks through 6 innings, while collecting 6 strikeouts. He surrendered 2 earned runs in the start. The 31 year old is definetly in for the biggest challenge of his young season this afternoon.

Tim Wakefield has been nothing short of exceptional at home thusfar. He is a perfect 3-0, but more impressive is his 1.73 ERA. He is 5-2, sporting a 3.59 total ERA, so it is obvious that the veteran knuckleballer loves his home park. He also has a very favorable matchup this afternoon as the Mets are likely to be missing several of their offensive weapons this afternoon. This all combines to be a great matchup for Wakefield.

Fenway Park is a special place for baseball, and as a Mets fan I’m thrilled that our team has a chance to go for a series sweep against such a great team like the Red Sox in such a historically rich and unique stadium. The pitching matchup is favorable for the Red Sox, as is the lineup card. A sweep doesn’t appear likely, but that’s why they play the game on the field. The weather will be beautiful at around game time with temperatures expected to reach 79 degrees, and the skies are expected to be fair. This all marks a beautiful day for baseball.
PLAY BALL!!!!!!