The kindest thing to say is that it just wasn’t meant to be. The Mets only had a puncher’s chance anyway. To take 2 of 3 from the Yankees would have been highly unlikely under the best of circumstances. And as just about every circumstance went against the Mets in Game 3, the result somehow became more palatable.
Taking the first game of the Series from the Yanks took all the pressure off the Mets, immediately ensuring that they wouldn’t be swept. So when Game 2 was lost, it wasn’t really very painful. It wasn’t that hard to figure that Chris Capuano, always vulnerable to the long ball, would be victimized somewhat while AJ Burnett would roll.
I’d say Game 3 was a typical Mike Pelfrey loss if it weren’t for the fact that he did so well for so long, pitching lights out for 6 innings. Usually he falls apart much sooner than the 7th inning. All he really did wrong in that 7th was give up a single and a walk. And, oh yeah, he hit Cervelli with a pitch to load the bases. By then, every Mets fan knew it was curtains for Mikey. The more cogent ones though knew he was done after he walked Dickerson.
Unfortunately, manager Terry Collins isn’t as smart as most Mets fans. He let Pelfrey pitch to Jeter, who promptly singled in two runs. Only then did Collins call for a reliever, after Jeter’s single tied the score at 3-3. Collins likes to give his players an opportunity to show their character. Pelfrey showed his when he nailed Cervelli. He’s really not that good with adversity.
It was interesting for a very short while thereafter. When Girardi sent the Yanks leader in home runs up to bunt the runners over to second and third, I figured the Yanks wasted an out and, if the Mets could walk Teixeira and get a ground ball from Arod, all would be right with the world. Reliever Beato had always been tough with runners in scoring position.
The ironic thing was that Beato did get his ground ball from Arod. But it was too soft, unplayably soft, and the winning run came trotting home. Even then, things might have been salvageable if Beato could have eked out a ground ball from Cano. But he couldn’t. Cano rifled a single to center and two more runs came scurrying home. Only then was it time to switch to the French Open.
What happened after all the above isn’t really important. Things got worse. Willie Harris booted a chance at third base but by then everybody had lost interest. Mets fans were left to wonder what could have been if Collins hadn’t been such an optimist with respect to Pelfrey.
But sometimes things just catch up to you. How long could the Mets keep going as if losing David Wright and Ike Davis didn’t really mean that much? How long could Justin Turner, the Mets RBI machine for the past week, keep practicing his magic? How long could the relief staff keep throwing up zeroes?
Our local heroes have a day off before traveling out to Chicago for three against the Cubbies before hosting the Phillies and then Pittsburgh. One hopes they just forget all about yesterday’s foibles. Instead, they could think about all the good things they have, because they can still win a lot of games with Justin Turner and Pridie and yes, even Willie Harris.
They just have to keep pitching well. There does seem to be enough talent there. By some miracle, R.A. Dickey’s knuckler has returned and the other starters, Gee and Niese and Capuano have been good enough so far to keep them in games. And the hitting isn’t really as bad as all the local media would have you believe, even without Davis and Wright.
You shouldn’t judge the Mets hitting off a series with the Yankees. Those relievers in the Bronx were and are pretty darned good. While the Cubbies have a couple of good ones in Marmol and Marshall, if the Mets can take and hold a lead against their starters, they may not have to face the really tough ones.
If this all sounds a little too optimistic, it shouldn’t. While these upstarts from Buffalo don’t have any reputations, they do seem to play defense and do all the other things needed to win. They’re not the Yankees but then even the Yankees aren’t really knockin’ ‘em dead.
The Yankees lineup just doesn’t seem that intimidating anymore. Arod seems to be coming on and Granderson hits the more than occasional dinger but otherwise they’ve been pretty mundane. Besides, the lineup is crazy. Having Granderson in the two spot is ridiculous. Although he did lay down a nice bunt yesterday and he does have speed, he’s really not making enough contact to be a two.
Teixeira’ not a three, Jeter’s not a one, and just about no Yankees seem to really fit in the lineup spot they find themselves in. Gardner should be the leadoff hitter with his speed and ability to take pitches. If anybody’s a three, it’s Arod and well, it’s not really my business but they are looking old to me, especially Posada but Jeter’s looking a little too creaky to me at shortstop. His error in taking a beautiful throw from Cervelli yesterday looked suspiciously to me like an old guy trying to do things only a younger guy could pull off.
And Cano looks as if his mind’s on something else more often than not. He’s not so far the wunderkind he was last year, especially in the field. Even at the plate more often than not, it looks as if he’s just not that into it.
The Mets never look complacent. The Mets are all trying their brains out. And as Beltran and Reyes are in their contract years, they’re playing for their very livelihoods. It’s a peculiar mix that just might work.
Showing posts with label Posada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Posada. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Happy Mets Fan
Before I get distracted by one more thing, let me get started here. It’s a rainy day, second day in a row actually, and I’ve had “alls I can stands” from indoor projects that I don’t even know how to do. And I’d really like to talk about, you guessed it, the Mets.
Okay, first an overview. The Mets are about a quarter way through the season (along with everyone else) and, beginning now, nobody can still say, “it’s early” and get away with it. I mean, before you know it, it’ll be June. That’s not early. The Mets are 19-21. The Yanks are 20-18, so they’re two games back of the Yankees. That’s not too shabby.
All the hitting I expected from this team in pre-season has arrived. Reyes and Beltran are tearing up the league. Wright and Bay are doing their plodding along but still pack some punch in a lineup. Ike Davis is hurt now but had been doing his best Carlos Delgado impersonation, without the smile and the notepad.
Who am I missing? Well, let’s see, the number 2 hitter is now Justin Turner and, since he knocked in 5 runs yesterday against the Astros, I really can’t pick on him too much. Josh Thole will spell him in the number two spot against righties and that’s all good too. Both these guys make contact, a la Luis Castillo, but with more power and much better timing as to just when they poke something.
The omnipresent Daniel Murphy is all over the place on the right side of the infield, spelling Davis now but also had looked pretty darned good at second, at least, better than everybody had once thought. And he’s at least nominally productive, scoring or driving in a run about 26% of the time. This stat, one of my favorites, just totals runs and ribbies divided by at-bats. Wright’s percentage is just 28% while Reyes’s average is only 22 ½ %, surprisingly enough. Since Reyes is batting at .310 with a .831 OPS and 14 steals though, his low production percentage can only be attributed to some pretty poor production both behind and in front of him.
Overall though, the Mets are 10th in runs scored which puts them in the top third of the entire league. Their pitching has held up admirably, especially in the relief category. Statistics for the season don’t really reflect that though as their poor start has mired them at just 24th in the league in ERA. It also reflects the poor starting pitching in general balanced only by really fine relief pitching.
It surprised me to find that the team leader in strikeouts and ERA is Chris Capuano at 34 and 4.78 respectively. Pelfrey is the leader in wins but with just three to his credit. Without getting too far into it, all the starters have been relatively bad, except for Chris Young, who’ll be out for the rest of the year.
But that doesn’t deter me from being optimistic. Except for Dickey, the starters are all beginning to come around. Ask yourself which starter makes you feel that the team has no chance that day. Pelfrey, Niese, Dillon Gee, Capuano and Dickey, I’ll take that rotation any day of the week. They’re all capable of at least keeping the team in the game.
With K-Rod closing, Isringhausen setting him up and Taylor Bucholz finishing up games, the Mets hitters have been paying attention for the entire game. I don’t have the stats on it but these Mets hitters seem to get better as the game wears on. I’m beginning to think the most important component of a team may very well be the quality of the relief pitching.
There’s nothing more demoralizing than losing games late because your relievers stink. That Houston team is the perfect example. They just wilt down the stretch. The Mets never seem to think they’re out of it, all of which makes it very easy to watch the entire game.
I won’t let myself get too excited about Santana’s return to the rotation though. I won’t let myself think too seriously about their chances for a wildcard either. As all one ever hears is that the Mets will be trading Beltran, Reyes and Wright away by the break, why should I let myself in for a letdown?
The Mets minor leagues are depleted of any real talent though. If Alderson and company think it’ll be necessary to trade any or all of them, Beltran, Reyes or Wright, I could very well live with the decision. What I don’t want to see is trading Wright and keeping Reyes or vice-versa. They should either both stay or both go.
Wright and Reyes have been the heart and soul of the Mets. It’d be too painful to split them up. In the back of my mind too, I can’t help thinking that they are both as responsible as anyone for the team’s frustrations these many years. Both have been spotty players overall, Reyes mostly because of injuries and Wright because of his failures to drive in runs in big spots. Wright gives every indication of being a head case. Who’s more erratic than David Wright?
As I’ve been a Mets fan as long as they’ve been in existence, I do think about the future too. It’d surely be nice to beef up the entire organization with young talent, especially in the pitching area. Each one of their trade candidates is marketable enough to garner some real talent in return. I’ll sacrifice 2011 for a team with a bright young future.
I’m pretty sure now that Sandy Alderson’s entire management team has been really professional. They’ve made prudent decisions on player acquisitions and don’t fill the news with scandal. The same can’t be said for their counterparts in the AL East.
And, speaking of the Yanks, it must be hard for Posada not to link himself with Jeter and Mariano, transferring their talents to himself.
Okay, first an overview. The Mets are about a quarter way through the season (along with everyone else) and, beginning now, nobody can still say, “it’s early” and get away with it. I mean, before you know it, it’ll be June. That’s not early. The Mets are 19-21. The Yanks are 20-18, so they’re two games back of the Yankees. That’s not too shabby.
All the hitting I expected from this team in pre-season has arrived. Reyes and Beltran are tearing up the league. Wright and Bay are doing their plodding along but still pack some punch in a lineup. Ike Davis is hurt now but had been doing his best Carlos Delgado impersonation, without the smile and the notepad.
Who am I missing? Well, let’s see, the number 2 hitter is now Justin Turner and, since he knocked in 5 runs yesterday against the Astros, I really can’t pick on him too much. Josh Thole will spell him in the number two spot against righties and that’s all good too. Both these guys make contact, a la Luis Castillo, but with more power and much better timing as to just when they poke something.
The omnipresent Daniel Murphy is all over the place on the right side of the infield, spelling Davis now but also had looked pretty darned good at second, at least, better than everybody had once thought. And he’s at least nominally productive, scoring or driving in a run about 26% of the time. This stat, one of my favorites, just totals runs and ribbies divided by at-bats. Wright’s percentage is just 28% while Reyes’s average is only 22 ½ %, surprisingly enough. Since Reyes is batting at .310 with a .831 OPS and 14 steals though, his low production percentage can only be attributed to some pretty poor production both behind and in front of him.
Overall though, the Mets are 10th in runs scored which puts them in the top third of the entire league. Their pitching has held up admirably, especially in the relief category. Statistics for the season don’t really reflect that though as their poor start has mired them at just 24th in the league in ERA. It also reflects the poor starting pitching in general balanced only by really fine relief pitching.
It surprised me to find that the team leader in strikeouts and ERA is Chris Capuano at 34 and 4.78 respectively. Pelfrey is the leader in wins but with just three to his credit. Without getting too far into it, all the starters have been relatively bad, except for Chris Young, who’ll be out for the rest of the year.
But that doesn’t deter me from being optimistic. Except for Dickey, the starters are all beginning to come around. Ask yourself which starter makes you feel that the team has no chance that day. Pelfrey, Niese, Dillon Gee, Capuano and Dickey, I’ll take that rotation any day of the week. They’re all capable of at least keeping the team in the game.
With K-Rod closing, Isringhausen setting him up and Taylor Bucholz finishing up games, the Mets hitters have been paying attention for the entire game. I don’t have the stats on it but these Mets hitters seem to get better as the game wears on. I’m beginning to think the most important component of a team may very well be the quality of the relief pitching.
There’s nothing more demoralizing than losing games late because your relievers stink. That Houston team is the perfect example. They just wilt down the stretch. The Mets never seem to think they’re out of it, all of which makes it very easy to watch the entire game.
I won’t let myself get too excited about Santana’s return to the rotation though. I won’t let myself think too seriously about their chances for a wildcard either. As all one ever hears is that the Mets will be trading Beltran, Reyes and Wright away by the break, why should I let myself in for a letdown?
The Mets minor leagues are depleted of any real talent though. If Alderson and company think it’ll be necessary to trade any or all of them, Beltran, Reyes or Wright, I could very well live with the decision. What I don’t want to see is trading Wright and keeping Reyes or vice-versa. They should either both stay or both go.
Wright and Reyes have been the heart and soul of the Mets. It’d be too painful to split them up. In the back of my mind too, I can’t help thinking that they are both as responsible as anyone for the team’s frustrations these many years. Both have been spotty players overall, Reyes mostly because of injuries and Wright because of his failures to drive in runs in big spots. Wright gives every indication of being a head case. Who’s more erratic than David Wright?
As I’ve been a Mets fan as long as they’ve been in existence, I do think about the future too. It’d surely be nice to beef up the entire organization with young talent, especially in the pitching area. Each one of their trade candidates is marketable enough to garner some real talent in return. I’ll sacrifice 2011 for a team with a bright young future.
I’m pretty sure now that Sandy Alderson’s entire management team has been really professional. They’ve made prudent decisions on player acquisitions and don’t fill the news with scandal. The same can’t be said for their counterparts in the AL East.
And, speaking of the Yanks, it must be hard for Posada not to link himself with Jeter and Mariano, transferring their talents to himself.
Friday, October 9, 2009
It's A New Week, Isn't It?
Okay, I’m trying to look at the bright side. Sure, the Mets have had nothing all season. It’s raining. It’s soggy. No, not saggy, that would be Posada’s face. Talk about pouting, come on, Jorge, suck it up. And Holliday makes a 2-out friggin’ drop to just kill the Cardinals. Made his homer look really inconsequential.
In football, I went 6 and 8 against the spread, just awful. I’m embarrassed. And Francesa’s broadcasting from Yankee Stadium. How depressing is that? Mike really lines up a great Friday show though, and he’s got college and NFL football, Troy Aikman, who isn’t a total fool, and various assorted (and sordid) guests of questionable renown….better than Manny from Brooklyn?
I tried an outline for this piece, first line was “Posada is a ____. I can’t even tell you how bad that is. I mean, let’s look at Posada’s good points. There are many. For example, Jorge can hit. Um, let’s see, what else, what else….hmm..he’s a leader in the clubhouse, how friggin vague is that?
Surely there’s more, um, can he throw people out? Well, 30% of the time, that’s not horrible, I guess. Is he good with pitchers? Hmmm. I hated him with Chamberlain and he doesn’t match Burnett that well….at all. He’s ok with CC and Pettite, so the theory goes…Molina doesn’t throw out a ton of runners either but he’s probably not obnoxious would be my guess. Heh-heh.
Did I mention Posada can hit? Oh yeah, that. I’d play Molina every day of the week. But that’s me, hitting isn’t everything, or haven’t I made that clear yet?
I was extremely ready for the Cards to hold on in Game 2. Wainwright was awesome for eight, and Holliday’s solo homer helped build a 2-1 lead. Then I worried that Franklin wouldn’t hold them, them being the Dodgers. It didn’t look as if he would hold them but then he got a liner to left. I said, “whew” when I saw Holliday would get there. Then there was his muff…..oh man.
It was one of those balls that hit you in the middle of things, glove up, glove down… and he was coming in hard and …… well, he missed it. And then you knew things were seriously downhill already. So the Dodgers are in real good shape, not an outcome I was personally looking forward to.
Then there was Week 4 that fooled me in a lot of spots. Who would’ve believed the Chargers had such a bunch of pushovers on defense? Not me. And I thought the Giants would have a down week for sure. But the Chiefs made mistakes early. It wasn’t a game after that. And I’m afraid I may have under-rated those Browns. If those three went as expected, my overall picks record would’ve looked ok. Anyway, here’s my week 5 picks. (I feel a 10-4 coming on).
Week 5 Picks
Favorite Underdog Spread 4 Best My Pick Reason
Min STL 10 * Min Favre will pad lead to run up his stats
Dal KC 8 ½ Dal After loss to Den, Dallas will run up score
CAR Was 3 ½ CAR Campbell is awful
PHI TamBay 15 PHI Tampa can’t stop pass, #5 is back
NYG Oak 15 Oak Giants don’t run up score, Oak pass defense good
BUF Cle 6 Cle Buffalo can’t stop run
BAL Cin 8 ½ * Cin Cinci Defense will surprise
Pit DET 10 ½ Pit Lost momentum w/o Stafford
SF Atl 2 ½ SF Niners may win it all
NewEng DEN 3 NewEng Pats make a point –master beats apprentice
ARZ Hou 5 ½ * ARZ Cards had plenty of prep time after bye week
Jac SEA NL Jac Seattle’s a mess, Jags aren’t
Ind TEN 4 Ind Hard to tell when Titans will stop anybody
Jets MIA 2 * Jets Jets will stop Miami run, Sanchez bounceback
My best bets (which I didn’t bother with last week, thank Jupiter) are the Vikings, Bengals, Cards and Jets. I’m going to pretend my best bets are one of those betting slips and I’ve got to pick all four to win.
“So what”? you ask. Let’s look closer at these contests.
Okay, the Vikings. They just rolled over the Packers. It was very sad indeed, especially if you happen to hate Favre. Green Bay did stop the run pretty well and Peterson didn’t do much. But maybe that wasn’t the way to go with defense as things turned out. And the Rams just were annihilated vs. the Niners last week. The Niners didn’t really even have much of an offense. The Vikings apparently do. It would take an enormous Viking flop for them not to just win but cover at just ten points.
I’ve liked Cincinnati all year. Cleveland was playing way above their heads last week, I was really impressed. But the Bengals didn’t fold. They hung on. How much better will Flacco and the Colts be than were Derek Anderson and the Browns in the Battle of Ohio? C’mon man, it was the Battle of friggin’ Ohio.
Kurt Warner with a week off along with his Arizona team should wipe up the Texans. They had a week to work on their running game and get receivers well. They did go to the Super Bowl last year. The Texans had horrible defensive performances for three weeks before holding the Raiders down last week. That’s Al Davis’s Raiders, folks. The Cards will romp.
Aah, and then there’s the Jets at Miami and a spread of two. I think the Jets are better than that. I think they can stop the run, they won’t be fooled by a wildcat, and they’re coming off a week of stopping New Orleans, one of the best offensive teams in the league. (I would have said THE best two weeks ago). Then there’s a relatively new quarterback in Miami. Another Chad named Henne. He didn’t do badly last week but it’s a new week, isn’t it.?
In football, I went 6 and 8 against the spread, just awful. I’m embarrassed. And Francesa’s broadcasting from Yankee Stadium. How depressing is that? Mike really lines up a great Friday show though, and he’s got college and NFL football, Troy Aikman, who isn’t a total fool, and various assorted (and sordid) guests of questionable renown….better than Manny from Brooklyn?
I tried an outline for this piece, first line was “Posada is a ____. I can’t even tell you how bad that is. I mean, let’s look at Posada’s good points. There are many. For example, Jorge can hit. Um, let’s see, what else, what else….hmm..he’s a leader in the clubhouse, how friggin vague is that?
Surely there’s more, um, can he throw people out? Well, 30% of the time, that’s not horrible, I guess. Is he good with pitchers? Hmmm. I hated him with Chamberlain and he doesn’t match Burnett that well….at all. He’s ok with CC and Pettite, so the theory goes…Molina doesn’t throw out a ton of runners either but he’s probably not obnoxious would be my guess. Heh-heh.
Did I mention Posada can hit? Oh yeah, that. I’d play Molina every day of the week. But that’s me, hitting isn’t everything, or haven’t I made that clear yet?
I was extremely ready for the Cards to hold on in Game 2. Wainwright was awesome for eight, and Holliday’s solo homer helped build a 2-1 lead. Then I worried that Franklin wouldn’t hold them, them being the Dodgers. It didn’t look as if he would hold them but then he got a liner to left. I said, “whew” when I saw Holliday would get there. Then there was his muff…..oh man.
It was one of those balls that hit you in the middle of things, glove up, glove down… and he was coming in hard and …… well, he missed it. And then you knew things were seriously downhill already. So the Dodgers are in real good shape, not an outcome I was personally looking forward to.
Then there was Week 4 that fooled me in a lot of spots. Who would’ve believed the Chargers had such a bunch of pushovers on defense? Not me. And I thought the Giants would have a down week for sure. But the Chiefs made mistakes early. It wasn’t a game after that. And I’m afraid I may have under-rated those Browns. If those three went as expected, my overall picks record would’ve looked ok. Anyway, here’s my week 5 picks. (I feel a 10-4 coming on).
Week 5 Picks
Favorite Underdog Spread 4 Best My Pick Reason
Min STL 10 * Min Favre will pad lead to run up his stats
Dal KC 8 ½ Dal After loss to Den, Dallas will run up score
CAR Was 3 ½ CAR Campbell is awful
PHI TamBay 15 PHI Tampa can’t stop pass, #5 is back
NYG Oak 15 Oak Giants don’t run up score, Oak pass defense good
BUF Cle 6 Cle Buffalo can’t stop run
BAL Cin 8 ½ * Cin Cinci Defense will surprise
Pit DET 10 ½ Pit Lost momentum w/o Stafford
SF Atl 2 ½ SF Niners may win it all
NewEng DEN 3 NewEng Pats make a point –master beats apprentice
ARZ Hou 5 ½ * ARZ Cards had plenty of prep time after bye week
Jac SEA NL Jac Seattle’s a mess, Jags aren’t
Ind TEN 4 Ind Hard to tell when Titans will stop anybody
Jets MIA 2 * Jets Jets will stop Miami run, Sanchez bounceback
My best bets (which I didn’t bother with last week, thank Jupiter) are the Vikings, Bengals, Cards and Jets. I’m going to pretend my best bets are one of those betting slips and I’ve got to pick all four to win.
“So what”? you ask. Let’s look closer at these contests.
Okay, the Vikings. They just rolled over the Packers. It was very sad indeed, especially if you happen to hate Favre. Green Bay did stop the run pretty well and Peterson didn’t do much. But maybe that wasn’t the way to go with defense as things turned out. And the Rams just were annihilated vs. the Niners last week. The Niners didn’t really even have much of an offense. The Vikings apparently do. It would take an enormous Viking flop for them not to just win but cover at just ten points.
I’ve liked Cincinnati all year. Cleveland was playing way above their heads last week, I was really impressed. But the Bengals didn’t fold. They hung on. How much better will Flacco and the Colts be than were Derek Anderson and the Browns in the Battle of Ohio? C’mon man, it was the Battle of friggin’ Ohio.
Kurt Warner with a week off along with his Arizona team should wipe up the Texans. They had a week to work on their running game and get receivers well. They did go to the Super Bowl last year. The Texans had horrible defensive performances for three weeks before holding the Raiders down last week. That’s Al Davis’s Raiders, folks. The Cards will romp.
Aah, and then there’s the Jets at Miami and a spread of two. I think the Jets are better than that. I think they can stop the run, they won’t be fooled by a wildcat, and they’re coming off a week of stopping New Orleans, one of the best offensive teams in the league. (I would have said THE best two weeks ago). Then there’s a relatively new quarterback in Miami. Another Chad named Henne. He didn’t do badly last week but it’s a new week, isn’t it.?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Joba's Bad But Omar's Looking Good
Joba Chamberlain is a better pitcher than he showed yesterday. He would have to be, wouln’t he? I hadn’t seen such tentativeness since Aaron Heilman. Did he throw any fastballs? It surely didn’t seem so.
The Yankees, my Dad says, are not a good team. He just doesn’t think they’re that good. Well, I guess I’d have to agree, given this little information. If they keep babying Joba and making him neurotic, it would appear, their chances are all that much slimmer.
Maybe it’s Jorge Posada that doesn’t agree with him. Posada had missed a lot of the Joba action last year. There were surely a lot of calls for breaking balls. And if a catcher can’t call a good game, it doesn’t really matter that he hits a little bit. One thing is for sure. If Joba has another game like this last one, I’m going to hide my Joba tee shirt. He looked that bad.
But the rest of the Yanks don’t really look that bad. I really don’t like Cano but he sure has been knocking the cover off the ball. Jeter looks really good too. Teixeira is starting to hold his own. Damon hasn’t been bad. Matsui has looked a bit off. Anyway, I’m not sure I agree with Dad on this one. The Yanks look pretty good to me, if the relievers hold up at all.
The Mets, what can you say? They did just enough to win last night, thanks largely to Sheffield, whose 500th tied the game late. It was a big big home run. And then Luis Castillo wins it for them with a slap to the left side, to deep short to score Delgado with the game-winner.
In one fell swoop, Omar looks like a genius. There have been no bigger targets of derision for Minaya than his acquisition of Sheffield and his retention of Castillo, or, better put, his failure to pick up another second baseman. Well, Castillo is hitting .387 and has fielded the position pretty well so far, better at least than Murphy has fielded his. And Sheffield showed what he can do at the plate. Big time.
Sheffield is now just 1 for 5 but that big knock should count for 3 or 4 hits. What a shot! And what a shot in the arm for our local heroes. I know Livan Hernandez was happy. He was off the hook after pitching really well and making one big mistake. Well, everybody was happy. I know I was happy.
So the Mets are even again at 5 and 5. They’ve lost three one-run games so far though. They haven’t been hitting in the clutch and were lucky to win last night, lucky that two old guys both came through when the game was on the line. If not for those two fellows, there would have been still one more one-run loss.
The Mets starters just haven’t been good enough. Livan has been pretty good despite his giving up that big homer last night. And Santana has been himself, which is to say….great. Then there’s Perez, who’s been himself also, which is to say….crazy. Maine and Pelfrey haven’t looked good at all, but not overwhelmingly bad either. And now Pelfrey’s a bit knicked up. Maybe it’ll help.
That relief pitching sure looks good though. Green, Putz and K-Rod. Jeez. It’s really kind of refreshing. If the starters pick it up even a little bit, I think the Mets will be in good shape. They can live with average performances from the bottom of the lineup, which in recent days had seemed like a long,long, long, bottom, starting with Church.
But last night they weren’t bad. Church managed to walk twice, Castro and Castillo each got a couple of hits and Luis had the game-winner. If they can pick it up a little on a more consistent basis, anything’s possible.
But we probably shouldn’t count on that core being so strong all the time either. Delgado’s been amazing, Beltran too but not last night, and Murphy’s been better than expected. Reyes is always a threat when he doesn’t over-slide the bags. (I pick on Jose because he deserves it sometimes).
So even with sketchy starting pitching, the Mets should be tough. They should be better than a .500 team as they are now. They have two more to play at home with the Brewers before taking on the Cards for three more in St. Louis. Those five games will help me guage just how good or bad they are as a team.
Time to wrap this up now. Santana just struck out Fielder and Reyes stole second. It looks like a good Mets start today, and if Castillo and Sheffield, who are both starting today, can continue to help out a little bit, it should be the beginning of a nice winning streak.
And Omar will continue looking good.
The Yankees, my Dad says, are not a good team. He just doesn’t think they’re that good. Well, I guess I’d have to agree, given this little information. If they keep babying Joba and making him neurotic, it would appear, their chances are all that much slimmer.
Maybe it’s Jorge Posada that doesn’t agree with him. Posada had missed a lot of the Joba action last year. There were surely a lot of calls for breaking balls. And if a catcher can’t call a good game, it doesn’t really matter that he hits a little bit. One thing is for sure. If Joba has another game like this last one, I’m going to hide my Joba tee shirt. He looked that bad.
But the rest of the Yanks don’t really look that bad. I really don’t like Cano but he sure has been knocking the cover off the ball. Jeter looks really good too. Teixeira is starting to hold his own. Damon hasn’t been bad. Matsui has looked a bit off. Anyway, I’m not sure I agree with Dad on this one. The Yanks look pretty good to me, if the relievers hold up at all.
The Mets, what can you say? They did just enough to win last night, thanks largely to Sheffield, whose 500th tied the game late. It was a big big home run. And then Luis Castillo wins it for them with a slap to the left side, to deep short to score Delgado with the game-winner.
In one fell swoop, Omar looks like a genius. There have been no bigger targets of derision for Minaya than his acquisition of Sheffield and his retention of Castillo, or, better put, his failure to pick up another second baseman. Well, Castillo is hitting .387 and has fielded the position pretty well so far, better at least than Murphy has fielded his. And Sheffield showed what he can do at the plate. Big time.
Sheffield is now just 1 for 5 but that big knock should count for 3 or 4 hits. What a shot! And what a shot in the arm for our local heroes. I know Livan Hernandez was happy. He was off the hook after pitching really well and making one big mistake. Well, everybody was happy. I know I was happy.
So the Mets are even again at 5 and 5. They’ve lost three one-run games so far though. They haven’t been hitting in the clutch and were lucky to win last night, lucky that two old guys both came through when the game was on the line. If not for those two fellows, there would have been still one more one-run loss.
The Mets starters just haven’t been good enough. Livan has been pretty good despite his giving up that big homer last night. And Santana has been himself, which is to say….great. Then there’s Perez, who’s been himself also, which is to say….crazy. Maine and Pelfrey haven’t looked good at all, but not overwhelmingly bad either. And now Pelfrey’s a bit knicked up. Maybe it’ll help.
That relief pitching sure looks good though. Green, Putz and K-Rod. Jeez. It’s really kind of refreshing. If the starters pick it up even a little bit, I think the Mets will be in good shape. They can live with average performances from the bottom of the lineup, which in recent days had seemed like a long,long, long, bottom, starting with Church.
But last night they weren’t bad. Church managed to walk twice, Castro and Castillo each got a couple of hits and Luis had the game-winner. If they can pick it up a little on a more consistent basis, anything’s possible.
But we probably shouldn’t count on that core being so strong all the time either. Delgado’s been amazing, Beltran too but not last night, and Murphy’s been better than expected. Reyes is always a threat when he doesn’t over-slide the bags. (I pick on Jose because he deserves it sometimes).
So even with sketchy starting pitching, the Mets should be tough. They should be better than a .500 team as they are now. They have two more to play at home with the Brewers before taking on the Cards for three more in St. Louis. Those five games will help me guage just how good or bad they are as a team.
Time to wrap this up now. Santana just struck out Fielder and Reyes stole second. It looks like a good Mets start today, and if Castillo and Sheffield, who are both starting today, can continue to help out a little bit, it should be the beginning of a nice winning streak.
And Omar will continue looking good.
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