MLB TV semi-liveblog

7:07:  Roy Halladay just completely embarrassed Lastings Milledge and Andrew McCutchen, striking them out (without either one making contact at any point during the at-bat) like they were doing David Wright impressions.  I don't even know if it was fastballs or cutters or what, everything he throws right now has crazy horizontal movement.  Look at what Halladay did with his two-seam fastball (FT, the navy blue data points) in 2009.

7:25:  Checking in with Johan Santana against the Braves, I'm treated to two men on base and Brian McCann at the plate.  As I get up to check on dinner, I'm sure this won't end with a double and two earned runs.

7:27:  Santana strikes him out as I walk back in the room, just in time to witness Johan's pained grimace as he trots off the mound.  This game will not go well.

7:44:  If Henry Blanco and Chris Carter both go hitless tonight, there won't be a single Met in the starting lineup batting .300 or better.  This is also my first live look at Kris Medlen, my waiver wire pick last year and official pitcher of interest now that he's back in the starting rotation.  (Johan Santana just struck out trying to bunt.  Way to make contact, champ.)  For a strikeout pitcher, I was expecting a hulking beast like Tommy Hanson, so I'm surprised to see that he's more like a Oswalt/Wagner build, short with a quick leg kick.  He's got a very vertical arm slot too, which is apparently capable of striking out Jose Reyes with ease.   It'll be interesting to see what the Braves do with him when Jurrjens comes back.  They should punt Kawakami to the bullpen, but they might view Medlen's bullpen success as too valuable to gamble on Kawakami giving you quality pitches in the 7th inning.

7:55:  Johan Santana might be the best pitcher I've ever seen at getting batters 0-2 with filthy knee-buckling stuff and then failing to get the strikeout.  I've watched it happen three times already, and it's only the third inning.  Even when it gets to 1-2, as with Heyward just now, Johan can't put it away. 

8:00:  Fuck.  I just want to remind myself that I had the opportunity to take Josh Johnson, Tommy Hanson, and Ubaldo Jimenez, but no, I took the old guy coming off arm surgery.

8:05:  I watched a large chunk of the Phillies-Pirates game, switched back to the Mets, and it's still the third inning with two outs, now with two men on and Johan losing his control.  He had Melky 0-2 before nearly hitting him in the crotch with a fastball.  Now 1-2, here comes....a breaking ball over the middle of the plate that anybody but Melky Cabrera would have launched into the gap.  28 pitches for the inning, approaching 70 for the game.  If he makes it through the 5th I'll consider myself lucky.

8:14:  David Wright, welcome to your 15th consecutive game with a strikeout.

8:17:  Tyreke Evans gets surprised with an on-air question from the hostess of the NBA Draft Lottery.  If I'd been able to decipher Evans's microphoneless mumble, I'd give you a transcript of his generic non-answer.  I love the NBA lottery because it's the only stage in professional sports where random non-superstar team players can be seated between GMs, exchanging awkward platitudes for missing the top 5 when the envelopes are opened.  For the record, it's down to the Nets, Wizards, and Sixers for the opportunity to be the team that kills John Wall's early-career development.

8:26:  The Nets lose!  The Nets lose!  They will now miss Wall and Turner.  This Russian owner guy looks like he's ready to make people in the NBA back office disappear.  It also probably kills any Lebron-to-NJ/Brooklyn momentum that had been building after the embarrassing Cavs finish.