. mock makes his 2010 debut against the mets. a starter they have connected with in the past. it's a great day for baseball. time to hop off the train and get off at citi field in new

york. second year for the mets in their new mote. this place was not good last year, washington lost 7 games. it's a little chilly here to today. >> we don't have too many outs in our lineup. if you get through a couple of guys, somebody else will get them. >> morgan leads it off with the triple. later, harris getting more reps. hitting the ball hard. 2 run homer and late in the ball game you get zimmerman, down the right field line, that was the game winning run. he was fighting off a lot of good pitches. we have a good defensive

lineup. when they are all clicking, they are going to put a lot of numbers up. >> yesterday you would say, it was cluck pitching. >> absolutely, after a couple of blow out games by the phillies, number 35 came in throwing a lot of strikes. working ahead. doesn't throw too many pitches. he was on his game yesterday and one run lead, you turn it over to your closer and that's the first win for the nationals. big win. >> that was huge. i wouldn't say the mets broken it against the phillies. >> you got to shake your head, that team is amazing. world champions from two years agoy. >> if you are on the mound

won't be afraid to throw ground balls. all the power you could want. when we bring it back, a closer look at the kid and the veteran, up the middle. eople about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

. nationals baseball. in the big apple tonight it feels like the end of winter, maybe the beginning of spring. nats and mets. new york won the over all series last year and they didn't have a good time here. things will be better, pitching, defense is better. we have already seen an

indication of that. >> this is what we talked about earlier, the combination, desmond, kennedy, it's going to take them a while to get it down. it's been excellent. here you are going to see a flip by kennedy. you see desmond stay in there. he stays at home, he knows he's going to take a hit. he turns the double play. trying to get that combination down, they are feeling that out nicely. >> when we can get an older guy to talk about the younger guy. >> i got a chance to talk to kennedy. i asked him about desmond and what make as good double play

combination. >> second base-mind is a big level, they make it easy on me. he's picked me up a few times. >> also desmond told me he loves working with kennedy. they share a lot of interest and love talking baseball. next up moxmakes his 2010 debut. it is the nats and the mets. stay close everybody.

. mets are taking the field on a chilly and windy evening at citi field. it's going to be miserable for some of those hitters down there. >> i think you could say zimmerman gets motivated when he's in the same ball park as wright. they seem to challenge each other. very little power for wright last year. mets won 9 of the last 10 against the nationals in the big apple. that's up on the roof. and when the umpire was

standing around home plate, we could see trousers flapping in the breeze as well. willy hitting most of his home runs, 75% in just over the last two years. he's in there. kennedy, rodriguez, desmond at the bottom. riggleman said today he is committed to playing guzman at second tomorrow and right field on sunday. could be interesting. bellfry is 3-5 against the mets. >> he was the 9th over all pick in to2005. last year fell backwards. didn't have a great spring but he throws hard. so on a cold windy night nats are going to have trouble with

him. he goes deep in the game. last three no wins but went 7 innings. 8 homers, 18 earned runs. 4-1 with a good e.r.a. he likes the cold weather. >> he's from kansas and that could be a nasty place to play babel. francoeur, beltran is still hurt. we may see reyes tomorrow. wright and jacobs and barajas the catcher. tejada the shortstop and pagan in center field. nationals scoring 11 runs in their first three games.

we are just a minute or so late on a chilly friday evening. belfry's first pitch is a high strike. it's been over cast all day, even sprinkles of rain. 54 degrees. wind shield has to be down into the 4ths with a 20-mile an hour breeze. welcome to april in new york city. everybody bundled up. >> bob: ball is well hit, to left center. hit the ball about 360 feet. >> rob: you talk about right, out to right field is death fally. so when you hit it to right field it's not going to go out unless you hit it a ton.

morgan hit it deep but pagan tracked it down. the only piece of gear you need out there is a glove because it's hard to hit one out of there. david wright could tell you that. >> bob: pitch is in there. wolf the home plate umpire has a generous cold weather strike zone tonight. so guys will be springing. to tejada. we got bonus coverage on masnhd tonight. toronto lost to the blue jays,

7-6. toronto goes to 3-1. here is zimmerman. 4-12. couple of rbis. bell free-throwing first pitch strikes to everybody in sight. >> rob: he could pump the balls in there very hard. so far he's in the low 90s. on a cold night it's a lot harder. >> bob: this one out to right center. hanging up. up to grab it, francoeur. belfry gets a 1, 2, 3.

. last year the mets won 73 games. they were 1 over 500 here. had the highest batting average in the league. david wright, 12 homers in his career against washington. last year the mets only hit 95 home runs and wright hit only 10. this new ballpark not suited for power. they will be better when reezand beltran comes back. wright .375 e.r.a. >> he has to go out there and

throw strikes. get ahead, don't fall behind and put pressure on yourself. the field is is playing big tonight. maybe in the future the mets come up with speed. >> even though there is a lot of money here in new york, there will be free agent who look at this ballpark and say no when it comes to being a power hitter here. >> bob: pagan did a good job last year. played 88 games, hit .306. out fielder from puerto rico. >> throws that sinker 88 to 92.

>> bob: that one misses as well. wolf has the plate. rubbing his hands to stay warm. there is one. foul. >> rob: four straight sinkers. lot of movement. it's windy. even two of those four pitches could be strikes. >> bob: great pitch. away movement against the left hander. a lot of things they didn't have last year is good defense. we have guys that can pick up the infield. fast ball away from pagan. >> rob: that was on the edge of the box. perfectly on the corner. count beback to 3-2 now.

>> rob: mock's career record is 4-13. with .514 e.r.a. there is pitching on the way later with long and strauss burg. some of these young guys have to pitch with a sense of urgency. >> bob: wong if he gets healthy he will be in the rotation. strauss burg. it's up to these guys to fire strikes and make the hitters work. >> bob: ball in to right. willie harris. willy got a good jump on it. let's get a report on mock. great stuff. not the best records. against the mets, .375 e.r.a. work ahead, take pressure off yourself. fell behind pagany, had to come

back and get him. he's challenging him right now with a sinker. >> bob: cora. by the way the nets beat the phillies today, at least at aaa. they beat the iron pigs in extra innings. in syracuse. scott olson pitched, gave up 4 runs. congratulation to the chiefs. 5 different players score adrun today and good opener for the aaa ball club. 1-1 to cora. breaking ball, low and inside. you put too much pressure and giving too much cred to

guys like cora. pagan, not a big power guy. both guys fell behind. >> bob: 35 home runs in 11 years. he's a little like luis castillo. >> rob: see how far this guy can hit it because it's not going to get out of here. >> bob: strike. 3-2. >> rob: talked about pitchers, you still got to believe in your stuff. got to matter of principle last year he did relieving. you are a power guy, power by these guys. >> bob: there you go. easy flyball for willie harris. mock keeps falling behind but gets a couple of outs.

desmond starts up to middle. with simmer done at the corners. >> rob: i asked jim last night if he ever considered running tuvarra for [inaudible] late in the game and he said he really didn't because morse is still shaken up a little and he didn't want rodriguez to come into the game. you are not going to have josh willingham catching your closer in the 9ing inning. he staid with neeves. >> rob: it worked out for him. doing the best he can. when you are behind, 3, four runs, very difficult to manage. first time he had an

opportunity to manage ahead yesterday. >> bob: he said if we pitch to him, them we have to move our out field and you got guys in the 9th inning playing out of position. he figured he would walk the guy, if they get us, they get us. capps retired all three of the guys. >> bob: 1-2 to david wright. he's low. >> rob: got to stay out of that habit, save the specialty stuff for later in the ball game. when i used to pitch i throw nothing but fast balls. you have to trust your defense in a pitcher's ball park.

>> bob: the wall in left center is huge. with the wind blowing in, she what they can do with their bats. david wright didfish something last year, hit over 300 and became the first new york met to do that. career batting average of .309. david wright specialty is the 2- bagger. >> bob: mock walks him. that will bring up jason bay who is 4-11 in his first three games as a met.

florida's home opener tonight. they entertain the dodgers. and the phillies are in houston. braves are in extra inning in san francisco, 4-4 there. hudson and sanchez were the starters. jason bay. let's have new faces. they went to free agent route for bay. jacobs, barajas and trades brought the others here. including jerry math us, jr. and they have a jungster up,

tejada who is the youngest player they have had in a long time. it invokes the name of someone currently in the washington national's organization. there is young mr. 20-year-old, tejada. 2-0. zimmerman comebacks it down. kept the ball out of the left field corner and the mets have their first base hit. bottom line is, mock is heading for a very tight pitch first inning. >> rob: hurt himself, got great stuff tonight. doesn't need to fall behind the hitters.

you are giving the mets the advantage when you fall behind. if you get behind you really put them in an advantage situation. you got to stop this right here and challenge these hitters. they haven't gotten off to a great start offensively. >> bob: jacobs with with the mets in 2005 but then they picked up delgado and there was no job here for him, went on to the marlins. was in kansas city last year. >> rob: he was let go there. big part of the trade with nunez, to the florida marlins and with some of the injuries he had, he's starting every day with new york. high strikeout guy. low on base percentage guy. >> bob: 132 strikeouts.

he has a lot of power but he's always been an all or nothing hitter. >> rob: he's giving way too much respect to the met's hitters. 2 outs, boughten of the first. -- bottom of the first. this is one of those nights that you can go to the pitcher's mound to keep your right hand warm. jacobs off to a slow start. 1-9. 1-1 pitch coming. >> rob: you love a night like this. you get inside on somebody with a 93 - fast ball his hands will heart all night. you see them blowing in to

their hands. they enjoy the last three days in washington where it was 90 degrees. >> bob: he gets the call at the knows. looked like wolf thought about it and then gave him the strike. >> rob: good moving fast ball here. sinks away from jacobs. the pitch track -- like the um- - looks like the umpire was generous. got to make a pitch right here now. >> bob: why wouldn't you throw that again? throws him a breaking ball and now the runners will be moving.

with 2 outs and a full count. not a bad choice there. thrown a lot of sinkers. first pitch was the hard sinker. jeff francoeur produced well after leaving atlanta coming to the mets last year. hopefully that swinger leads off the bottom of the second. mock had 28 pitches here on a 3- 2 count. popped a mile high, right side. wind is going to move this ball around. done catches the ball near the bag with jacobs flashing by. long inning. ll in the pepperat. for me, pepperation is about getting in early to smoke your ribs low and slow over pecan wood chips for a sweet, smoky flavor.

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. >> rob: the flight from moscow

got in right on time. >> bob: with the nuclear treaties being signed. >> rob: we are all friends again. >> bob: we are all friends. dunn take as low strike. adam is off with a 2-9 start. three strike outs, four walks. bell free through 6-7 in the strike zone first inning. remember the home run adam hit last year, almost knocks down the bridge down for there. >> rob: no doubt. >> bob: the bridge representing the bridge that joins the 5 borrows here.

fast ball is in. a little bit. 2-2. belfry coming at the nationals. 93 miles per hour, sinking fast ball. >> bob: adam with the tremendous batting eye of his. 116 walks last year with on base percentage of .398. right on his career mark. for those who missed it, willingham swinging a good bad. adam conceded he didn't have the greatest spring straining because he likes to take as many pitches as we can to see

live pitches. with a good batting eye, he's aboard to lead the second second. >> rob: nationals with their first base runner. also doing a great job, he knows his pitcher. take a few pitches, give him rest in between inning. he's got a great batting average. those balls weren't missing by much. you have to see the ball really well to take those pitches. willingham is 4-10. willingham a good batting average against pelfrey. nats beating him 5-8 decisions. he started, including tonight,

13 times against washington. >> rob: the most against any other club in the major league. being in the same division he gets to see the nationals a lot. nationals get to see him a lot. desmond has three hits against pelfrey. >> bob: willingham on a big swing strikes out. pelfrey-first k. and he will face adam kennedy. >> rob: looked like he used a couple of those against josh and a night like tonight where it's windy, we want him to throw that comfortably. 93 miles per hour fast ball. >> bob: david wright is in an

interesting position because of the kind of hitter adam kennedy is. when is the last time you saw a nonpower hitting left handed batter in the box and third baseman playing 30 feet off the line. because he shoots the ball through that hole a lot. >> rob: he's a pull hitter, even for a guy that doesn't have the most home runs. >> bob: he will hook that to right field. right up there is francoeur who has one of the best arms in baseball. he leads the team in out field assists since 2005. rodriguez will be next. >> rob: francoeur is perfect for this ballpark. curvature of the fence. he will get a lot of balls.

throws people out going to third. you see that mote, it's a cut out. >> bob: that cut out and the sign above it, represent the only major disagreement that dibble and carpettenner had last year. the ball, i thought, hit the track and bounced to the sign. the umpired it hit the subway sign. i am still trying to figure out how that is possible. that's a well placed ground ball for rodriguez. they were playing him way off the line. you knew we were going to show those home runs gen.

>> rob: that one a fan interfered with. murphy. look where it bounces. it hits the sign. admit i was right, please. >> bob: it hit the sign, right. you said it was. >> rob: i thought it hit the subway sign. they pointed sign -- they pointed it orange now. they painted it orange now. >> bob: 2-7 with two rbis. >> rob: it comes out, hangs

over. they did that on purpose. >> bob: that could be somewhere between 5-10 feet. reminiscent of old tiger stadium. and desmond rams one the left. that ball is going to the wall. adam scores. rodriguez scores. desmond going for 3. he is in there and the nationals lead 2- 0. that's a long run for rodriguez to score. >> rob: he does it again. gets it by jason bay.

desmond gets in there with a triple. that's his third major league triple. >> rob: how about him and the extra base hits? mock steps in, 2-27 hitter. >> rob: can they give mock a little help? couple of runs early in the ball game again. >> bob: leadoff walk starts it here. pelfrey. >> rob: that's a potent bat in the 8 spot. >> bob: on a pitch, mock bounces it to tejada. nationals pick up 2 runs on a walk, a single, a triple.

off to the races. putting his head down, he's going to third to give nationals a 2-0 lead in the middle of the second. force she spent hours building the community of her dreams... you can help make it a reality in around 10 minutes. if you already received the census form, answer the 10 simple questions and mail it back as soon as possible. rest assured: federal law protects your answers.

nationals on top, 2-0. we invite you to visit fc. >> i was talking to mock about

working with future hall of famer and he said i was in first grade when he came up with the texas rangers. being from texas he was a big fan and he said he liked the texas players. when i talked to pugs i said did you know mock was in first grade when you came up? morgan said i was 11. back to you. >> rob: i wish we could say that. >> bob: yep. >> rob: part of the beauty of this game. >> bob: up the middle. see if mock can go after some hitters. francoeur who is a first ball swinger but he didn't like that breaking ball.

he hit .311 for the mets. he hit .250 for the braves and i know it wasn't easy for the braves to trade theirome town kid. he was a product of the outstanding program down there. probably hit a few balls like that. not quite that far and he's got the mets on the board with his first homer of the year. for francoeur the 89th homer of his career, rbi 181. >> rob: that's a danger pitch to throw the too francoeur. mock loves to throw change ups

to right handers. it fell low to a righty and he was all over it. he crushed it. >> bob: 2 hopers this year. wright hit the others. here is barajas. >> rob: francoeur reminds me of jayson werth. if you are going to come inside, you better come way inside on it. >> bob: breaking ball 0-2. barajas with toronto the last couple of years. hit 19 home runs last year. career high. over 70s rbis. hit under .230. free agent in february. mock gets him on a breaking

ball, niger morgan. >> rob: morgan was pumping gas years ago when he signed with arizona. he turned in to one of the best baseballers last year. he was a late sign by the mets but good receiver behind home plate. arizona got him out of sureteoes, jr. college in california and he was drafted after a diamondbacks champ. great career. >> bob: here is tejada. great pitchers in arizona in the early 2000. >> bob: tejada 20 years of age. out to short. desmond will gun him out.

and bases empty 2 outs now. >> rob: great pitch to tejada. 90-mile per hour sinker. for a 20-year-old kid in the cold, probably going to feel that the rest of the night. >> bob: interesting, weight write said he didn't like the field of the baseballs. >> rob: will happen on occasion. if they don't put a bunch of mud on the ball and you can't

get a good grip, especially like nights like night, it's to get a grip, so that you can get a grip in your breaking ball because it will feel glassy and smooth. pelfrey, all mock needs to do is go to work here. >> rob: i don't know if you saw wane right's breaking ball. >> bob: he's got a good curve ball. pagan number 1 hitter for the mets. that was hit hard. got to be a base hit. he just crushed it. it's unfortunate that that happened because you want to get the pitcher. you got pelfrey up.

and he just crushed it and now you have the top of the order. looks like -- what looked like a quick inning, the inning continues. >> bob: yep. >> rob: nearly 30 pitches in the first inning when he retired the first 2 batters. pagan who lined out to right. >> rob: when you go through the batting order, you go i can get this guy out, that guy is going to give me trouble. with the pitcher's spot you should -- you are going, i can get that guy easily. >> bob: knowing where the outs

are. >> rob: exactly. paying attention to the ones that can hurt you. >> bob: good change up there. he pulled off that pitch. kennedy is there. and the nats have the lead despite francoeur's home run.

>> bob: beautiful view of citi field. that's where shea stadium used to be. made a lovely parking lot. >> rob: 10 of 18 are the mets last year. relatively low scoring series. look at the nationals vegin home runs. -- look at the national's advantage in home runs. >> bob: john lannan is going tomorrow. he won a ball game umhere. he had both of those complete

games against the mets. >> rob: there is not a lot of scary guys in that met office. a good people for us to win a couple of games. you got to take it when you can get it because rays are want going to be easy, marlins aren't. >> bob: we home they take their time rehabbing carlos beltran. who was hurt a lot last year. so was reyes. it's been a while since they have been able to put their team on the field. talk is, there is both a manager and a general manager on the hot seat. in new york this year.

>> rob: i don't think anybody could have foreseen all the injuries last year. he'sdepy taylor reports the mets are saying mid-pay for the return of beltran. today they said tomorrow for reyes. >> bob: one thing about beltran he had surgery without telling anybody. that cause adhuge problem here in new york. >> bob: off the middle, peltry deflected it. it's tough not to grab at the

ball, trying to knock it down. it's not recommended. a lot of time if that breaks the tip of a finger you are done for a long time. >> rob: that's why they ran out to check on it so fast. >> bob: looks like it's black and blue already. >> rob: what's the deal there? he's 67 to the to the. he act said more like a goalie right here. he's 6'7". he acts more like a goalie. he tells the trainer he's okay. i would like to know what that black substance is in his hand. >> bob: willie harris with a

home run yesterday. the 28 of his career. when you consider that 2007 he had 7 roam runs in his career. now over the last two years, he hit 13, 7 and now one more. he will tell you he never tries to hit home runs. he catches them sometimes. >> rob: if you get a guy that throws 90-mile per hour and get the bat in front -- here is the stuff on his hands. that's some kind of substance to get a grip on the ball. not saying it's pine tar. might be some kind of stickm. if i was a umpire i would check

his hand. >> bob: 3-veer30 to harris. and he will take a walk. >> rob: passed adam dunn and here is zimmerman. >> bob: zimmerman floyd to right first time up -- flied to right first time up. >> rob: the 100 home run count down will be on for zimmerman. he is at 91. we thought he had one on opening day before the ball bashed off the geico sign in

right center. ryan 0-13. 5 strike outs so far. >> rob: a lot of times your middle infielders, if not hit well, he will have a beat on it and probably will make the play. sometimes you will change the direction of the ball and ends up being a hit. >> bob: with that hitter it probably would have been a hit. it's not recommended to do that. it's almost involuntary. if a ball is hit at you, you are going to