I couldn’t be more disappointed.
The Mets lost to the Phillies 11-5 last night after Johan Santana handed in the worst performance of his career, looking more like Jamie Moyer than did Jamie Moyer. Santana’s fastball had nothing, his changeup wasn’t much different from his fastball, and his control was non-existent.
I had a bad feeling about this game after I saw the lineup. In the biggest game of this season, the Mets played it as if it mattered not at all. The energy-sucking guys were back in the lineup, Tatis and Matthews, replacing the hot rookie Ike Davis and Angel Pagan, who had just begun to hit. It was as if Manager Jerry Manuel was letting Philadelphia know that this game just wasn’t that important.
It’s really a shame.
No matter how bad Santana was , I’m putting this loss squarely on Jerry Manuel. The lineup he put together was stupid, especially given the situation. He didn’t seem to care if his team lost and his players followed his lead. Wright hit a 3-run shot and Barajas homered too but it only mattered for an inning or so as Santana and Manuel quickly gave it all back.
I’m tired of watching Tatis and that infuriating uppercut swing of his. Matthews is just horrible. He doesn’t look right in a uniform. He doesn’t look like an athlete. He doesn’t perform like an athlete. He’s batting .139. Tatis is batting .212.
There’s a word for the way Manuel approached that game last night….chicken. Manuel played it like a gentle mother, having her boy avoid those big guys on the block. Just walk the other way. Don’t go near those people.
I know that Matthews supposedly plays better defense than Pagan. I know Tatis has more experience than Davis, but what about the feeling of the team? What about combativeness?
I want a fighter leading my team. Billy Martin wouldn’t have played Matthews or Tatis last night. He would have played his starting lineup. So would Piniella. So would Leland. So would Girardi. So would Randolph. (And it kills me to say so).
I’m disgusted with Manuel’s over-thinking in critical situations. There must’ve been a reason to leave Santana in the game last night, after he walked a 47-year-old pitcher. Nine out of ten managers would have taken Santana out immediately…..do not pass go….do not collect $200.
Manuel didn’t want to embarrass his ace. He embarrassed him more by leaving him in. Of course, there was nobody warming up so there really was no alternative. After a double, two singles and two walks, there was still no action in the Mets bullpen.
Once again, it was a gentle motherly type of decision. Most managers act more like fathers, fathers who understand the importance of winning over the niceties of saving face for your starting pitcher, fathers who’d have recognized that it was a big game, one for which you put in your best lineup.
Before this series even started, I maintained that the Mets were the more balanced team. And they are. But Jerry Manuel, in his infinite wisdom, didn’t take advantage.
His counterpart in the Phillies dugout, Charlie Manuel, acknowledged his weaknesses, avoiding his thin bullpen, allowing his 47-year old pitcher to hit with the bases loaded in that incredible fourth inning. If the pitcher made an out, the Phils would still have been down by two runs. But Charlie Manuel avoided that bullpen of his, at all costs, even that of losing the chance to take the lead.
That the Mets were playing their second team made Charlie’s decision easier. Moyer had been mowing them down. Surely Moyer was a good choice to face that weakened lineup until his arm fell off, or until his fastball dipped below 70, whichever came first.
You can pitch around a National League lineup, especially one with only six hitters in it. Taking Davis and Pagan out of the lineup left the Mets with only 3 real power threats, Wright, Bay and Francoeur. Pitching carefully to just three batters beats having to do so against five.
That was a bad loss, any way you look at it. Santana was awful. He’s the ace. He walked a 47-year old pitcher with the bases jammed. Even after that, the Mets still led by one. Santana was obviously rattled.
The Mets bullpen had shown that it was one of the best in the league. Just about any choice from that bullpen would have been a better one than that of leaving your rattled ace on the rubber in that raucous atmosphere of Citizens Bank Park.
As bad as Santana was though, Jerry Manuel was worse. He had no pitchers warming up. So that fantastic bullpen, with strikeout pitchers in it like Takahashi didn’t get an opportunity to face Victorino, whose grand slam put the Mets down by three, or Polanco, who singled before Utley’s two-run shot to right that put the final nail in the Mets coffin, a coffin designed and meticulously constructed by Jerry Manuel.
It’s a shame too because this was a key game. The Mets playing the importance of the game down doesn’t make it so. Manuel’s bad decisions both before and during the game cost them dearly, and the Mets may lose a few more games due to the letdown.
It was a huge loss. It was a 2-game swing in the standings. Instead of being 1 ½ games up, in first place in the NL East, they are now ½ game behind. All the good things about this season were largely erased last night, the holding together of Maine and Perez, the outstanding performances of Pelfrey and Niese and the bullpen, the sparkling play of Francoeur and newbie Ike Davis.
Jerry Manuel played his backups and made a bad pitching situation much worse. Never has a Mets manager been so thoroughly out-managed, not that I can recall.
Sometimes good things can come from a loss. This is not one of those times.
Showing posts with label Santana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santana. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
No Time to Panic
Okay, the Mets are stinkin’ out the joint but at least there’s Phil Mickelson. And that pilot who landed in the Hudson River with all passengers totally fine. There are lots of contemporary heroes. But don’t look for any at Citi Field.
Oh sure, things looked great after that first game. Johan pitched a gem. I haven’t forgotten that. But then there was Maine. Maine did the same thing he always does, disappoint. But what the hell, I expected that. And the Mets came back in that one, to tie it at 6, but the scoring was illusory as they did it with walks, and some truly horrible Marlins relief pitching.
Then Niese went out and pitched great but the Mets bats weren’t really there. Pagan and Francoeur got a couple of hits each but the rest of the lineup got just four more. Still, to that time, the Mets were just 1-2, and maybe it was just good pitching from the Marlins that got them.
But then Pelfrey looked better than expected, and showed a nice new pitch in his repertoire. So things are looking up, I think, when Pelfrey starts in the future. The Mets bats were back too, with new catcher Rod Barajas banging two homers and Jeff Francoeur continuing his hot hitting with two homers of his own. Now the Mets were even again, with a 2 and 2 record after four.
Crazy Ollie was up next though, another John Maine, only crazier. Perez had a typical Perez performance but he did go 5 2/3 giving up just 4 runs. And Igarashi, Perpetual Pedro and new guy Jennry Mejia gave up just 1 hit over the last 3 innings. Mets bats weren’t there again, however, except for Francoeur . Even with that though, they could have won and lost only because they got robbed by a great fielding play. So they could have been 3 and 2. Only bad fortune made them 2 and 3. And Santana would be going the next day.
But Johan threw some bad pitches and gave up a big homer to Willingham. The Mets bats produced just two runs. They got those two runs from a most unlikely source too, from Mike Jacobs, who will hit a homer once in a while, but more often will pop up or fan completely. Francoeur once again had a multi-hit game but with less actual effect, as things turned out.
So the Mets are 2 and 4. Manager Jerry Manuel assumed responsibility later on, needlessly I thought, but what the hell, what difference does it make when you’ve got guys like Mike Jacobs hitting behind Jason Bay, or Gary Matthews? Come on, would you pitch to Bay? If you would, what kind of pitch would you be throwing?
Let’s recap though. The Mets lost two games by one run and one game by two runs. The pitching really hasn’t been too bad. But Matthews and Mike Jacobs aren’t the answers. Angel Pagan should play center, not Matthews. And Tatis could play first, if you really want a lineup. Here we go…Reyes, Castillo (or Cora, they both have similar games), Wright, Bay, Francoeur, Barajas, then Tatis (playing first) and Pagan batting eighth, just to get some speed at the back of the order.
The Mets are currently 18th in batting average among the 30 MLB teams, about the same in runs scored, but significantly better in on base average. They’re pretty bad in slugging pct and home runs as you’d expect. What this all indicates to me is that they need some power (they need Beltran back pretty badly) obviously but they could improve things a lot with a better lineup. And that lineup doesn’t include Matthews or Jacobs.
I don’t understand their thinking. Didn’t any fantasy player know that Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews were real reaches? Did they really think Gary Matthews was a significant improvement over Angel Pagan? Did they think Mike Jacobs was going to be more consistent? And how long are they going to stay with these guys? Sure, Jacobs hit one out yesterday, but with him, it’s a roll of the dice, loaded dice against the roller.
The Mets have been unlucky too, I might add. Yeah, they lost three games of four by tight margins, but they’ve also been victimized by nice plays and they haven’t had much luck at third base defensively, with Wright unable to come up with hard ground shots to the third base side twice that I can remember. Tatis can’t really play a nice third base either. So put him at first.
But there’s no reason to panic. For Manuel to say they weren’t ready isn’t really accurate to my mind. They were ready. They just aren’t good enough hitters as a group to hit Livan Hernandez, who pitched a beauty of a game. He apparently was “up” for the game, facing his former teammates, for most of whom he’s pretty familiar.
Francesa is saying this afternoon that Manuel is feeling the heat, that he needs a good start, and that after six games, pressing the panic button indicates your job is in jeopardy. And maybe that’s true. Jerry says a lot of stuff, including yesterday something about revelation that was particularly pithy, I thought.
Rather than feeling for his job though, I think Manuel was just trying to take the heat away from the players, some of whom have really been pitiful and most of whom have been average. Maybe he’s taking responsibility for that stupid lineup he’s been putting on the field. Maybe he’s protecting Minaya, who, if there is a culprit in these proceedings, should really be at fault.
The roster is unbalanced really, with too many outfielders and not enough corner infielders. With this team, to have either Pagan or Matthews on the bench while guys like Jacobs and Tatis are in the lineup, is not really sensible.
And yes, I know Daniel Murphy’s coming back to play first.
Oh sure, things looked great after that first game. Johan pitched a gem. I haven’t forgotten that. But then there was Maine. Maine did the same thing he always does, disappoint. But what the hell, I expected that. And the Mets came back in that one, to tie it at 6, but the scoring was illusory as they did it with walks, and some truly horrible Marlins relief pitching.
Then Niese went out and pitched great but the Mets bats weren’t really there. Pagan and Francoeur got a couple of hits each but the rest of the lineup got just four more. Still, to that time, the Mets were just 1-2, and maybe it was just good pitching from the Marlins that got them.
But then Pelfrey looked better than expected, and showed a nice new pitch in his repertoire. So things are looking up, I think, when Pelfrey starts in the future. The Mets bats were back too, with new catcher Rod Barajas banging two homers and Jeff Francoeur continuing his hot hitting with two homers of his own. Now the Mets were even again, with a 2 and 2 record after four.
Crazy Ollie was up next though, another John Maine, only crazier. Perez had a typical Perez performance but he did go 5 2/3 giving up just 4 runs. And Igarashi, Perpetual Pedro and new guy Jennry Mejia gave up just 1 hit over the last 3 innings. Mets bats weren’t there again, however, except for Francoeur . Even with that though, they could have won and lost only because they got robbed by a great fielding play. So they could have been 3 and 2. Only bad fortune made them 2 and 3. And Santana would be going the next day.
But Johan threw some bad pitches and gave up a big homer to Willingham. The Mets bats produced just two runs. They got those two runs from a most unlikely source too, from Mike Jacobs, who will hit a homer once in a while, but more often will pop up or fan completely. Francoeur once again had a multi-hit game but with less actual effect, as things turned out.
So the Mets are 2 and 4. Manager Jerry Manuel assumed responsibility later on, needlessly I thought, but what the hell, what difference does it make when you’ve got guys like Mike Jacobs hitting behind Jason Bay, or Gary Matthews? Come on, would you pitch to Bay? If you would, what kind of pitch would you be throwing?
Let’s recap though. The Mets lost two games by one run and one game by two runs. The pitching really hasn’t been too bad. But Matthews and Mike Jacobs aren’t the answers. Angel Pagan should play center, not Matthews. And Tatis could play first, if you really want a lineup. Here we go…Reyes, Castillo (or Cora, they both have similar games), Wright, Bay, Francoeur, Barajas, then Tatis (playing first) and Pagan batting eighth, just to get some speed at the back of the order.
The Mets are currently 18th in batting average among the 30 MLB teams, about the same in runs scored, but significantly better in on base average. They’re pretty bad in slugging pct and home runs as you’d expect. What this all indicates to me is that they need some power (they need Beltran back pretty badly) obviously but they could improve things a lot with a better lineup. And that lineup doesn’t include Matthews or Jacobs.
I don’t understand their thinking. Didn’t any fantasy player know that Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews were real reaches? Did they really think Gary Matthews was a significant improvement over Angel Pagan? Did they think Mike Jacobs was going to be more consistent? And how long are they going to stay with these guys? Sure, Jacobs hit one out yesterday, but with him, it’s a roll of the dice, loaded dice against the roller.
The Mets have been unlucky too, I might add. Yeah, they lost three games of four by tight margins, but they’ve also been victimized by nice plays and they haven’t had much luck at third base defensively, with Wright unable to come up with hard ground shots to the third base side twice that I can remember. Tatis can’t really play a nice third base either. So put him at first.
But there’s no reason to panic. For Manuel to say they weren’t ready isn’t really accurate to my mind. They were ready. They just aren’t good enough hitters as a group to hit Livan Hernandez, who pitched a beauty of a game. He apparently was “up” for the game, facing his former teammates, for most of whom he’s pretty familiar.
Francesa is saying this afternoon that Manuel is feeling the heat, that he needs a good start, and that after six games, pressing the panic button indicates your job is in jeopardy. And maybe that’s true. Jerry says a lot of stuff, including yesterday something about revelation that was particularly pithy, I thought.
Rather than feeling for his job though, I think Manuel was just trying to take the heat away from the players, some of whom have really been pitiful and most of whom have been average. Maybe he’s taking responsibility for that stupid lineup he’s been putting on the field. Maybe he’s protecting Minaya, who, if there is a culprit in these proceedings, should really be at fault.
The roster is unbalanced really, with too many outfielders and not enough corner infielders. With this team, to have either Pagan or Matthews on the bench while guys like Jacobs and Tatis are in the lineup, is not really sensible.
And yes, I know Daniel Murphy’s coming back to play first.
Monday, April 5, 2010
A Beautiful Day, a Mets Day
It’s 11 PM and there’re 11 minutes left in the Duke-Butler game. Switching to baseball, the Angels are leading the Twins and Tim Lincecum and the Giants just finished beating a mostly hapless Houston team. This afternoon, I watched our Metsies thrash the Marlins for still another Opening Day win.
I’m getting worn out, even if I am rather happy about it.
Leaving this Duke game for a while, let me just reflect on the Mets opener, a 7-1 easy win, a Santana gem for 6 innings, a coming out party for David Wright and Jason Bay, a reaffirmation that this Mets team can be awfully good after all. When Wright in his first at-bat knocked one right over the wall in right, I thought I’d just die.
We got some first looks at Rod Barajas as a Met, we saw Alex Cora leading off, and we saw Mike Jacobs batting cleanup. We saw Gary Matthews in centerfield and getting lots of chances on the day. And we saw what was probably the most beautiful day to ever break on an April 5th in New York/New Jersey, made all the better, of course, by the Mets win, and not just the fact that they won, but the manner in which they did it.
I had been a little concerned that Santana would have some trouble in his first start after the surgery. He showed me early on that any concern was needless. The fastball was fast, the changeup was still there, and, lo and behold, there was a nice little slider to befuddle those big Marlin bats.
By the top of the second inning, the game was over, for all intents and purposes. Of course, we didn’t know it at the time. But that Mets bottom of the first showed those Fish that the Mets were taking this opener very seriously indeed. And, as much as I was happy for Wright, I was even happier for Luis Castillo, who legged out what could very easily have been a double play. So, instead of Wright batting with two outs and none on, there was Luis on first with just one out. And Wright made it pay off.
(There’re now 49 seconds left in the basketball final and Duke is still hanging on with a one-point lead and the ball). Now they miss the shot and the ball bounces off Zoubek’s foot. Butler has now taken the clock down to 14 seconds and taken a timeout. Still another nail-biter for the NCAA. They’re back now and the cameras are all focused on Hayward. Oh well, Duke wins, I lose another bracket).
Now back to the Angels-Twins game and good ol’ former Yankee Hideki Matsui drives in the go-ahead run for the Angels with a single to right. It looks like Godzilla is still open for business. I find myself wondering what Johnny Damon did today. Upon checking, he went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 ribbies. He was pretty much the brightest light for the Tigers in their win over the Royals.
As good as Granderson looked in the Yankees loss to the Red Sox last night, it’s hard to believe that he and that big lug Nick Johnson will make up for the loss of clutch hitters like Damon and Matsui. I couldn’t be happier about it either.
But back to the Mets, I hadn’t mentioned Jeff Francoeur earlier. He looked good too, knocking in 2 rbi’s on the day. Come to think of it, I can’t think of any Mets that looked bad. Even the relief corps looked good, Fernando Nieve turning in two scoreless innings and K-Rod finishing up the same way as he always does; that is to say he was friggin’ great.
But there will be 161 more games, the first of which for our heroes begins Wednesday against these Marlins again, with John Maine going up against Ricky Nolasco. Manuel has Maine going as his Number Two if only because Mike Pelfrey gets banged around regularly against the Marlins. I wish I could say something nice here. I have absolutely no faith in John Maine. I’ve seen enough.
Just as this Mets team seems to feed off the intensity of a guy such as Santana, they also seem to absorb the flightiness of Maine. Maine will strike out a couple of guys and then just throw four straight balls, let the guy steal second, and just totally lose focus. I expect no better on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his opponent Ricky Nolasco has all the intensity of Johan Santana with about ½ the talent, which, against John Maine, should be more than enough.
I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be so happy if he makes me eat my harsh words over and over again for the entire season.
While Manuel worries about the bullpen, I’m more concerned with the inconsistency of these Mets starters. A bigger bunch of flakes is not to be found on this planet. (And probably the other planets as well but I have no way of checking).
Maine, Pelfrey, Perez….every series looks to be an adventure. Nobody could predict what they’ll do. Thankfully, all their performances aren’t bad, just most of them. And, more often than not, if they do manage to escape the first few innings unscathed, they will have thrown enough pitches to get taken out by the sixth inning anyway, putting that much additional burden on the relievers.
Aargh, but why get upset now? It’s been a beautiful day, following a beautiful night of the Yankees losing to their chief rivals. It was so nice to see Jorge lose one for them. As good a hitter as he is, he more than makes up for it with his pitch selection and ridiculous fielding. I’m so happy he’s a Yankee. I just wish poor Joba, the only Yankee I like, has to pitch to him.
I’ll start worrying Wednesday morning. Until then, I’ll watch replays of Mark Buehrle’s play.
I’m getting worn out, even if I am rather happy about it.
Leaving this Duke game for a while, let me just reflect on the Mets opener, a 7-1 easy win, a Santana gem for 6 innings, a coming out party for David Wright and Jason Bay, a reaffirmation that this Mets team can be awfully good after all. When Wright in his first at-bat knocked one right over the wall in right, I thought I’d just die.
We got some first looks at Rod Barajas as a Met, we saw Alex Cora leading off, and we saw Mike Jacobs batting cleanup. We saw Gary Matthews in centerfield and getting lots of chances on the day. And we saw what was probably the most beautiful day to ever break on an April 5th in New York/New Jersey, made all the better, of course, by the Mets win, and not just the fact that they won, but the manner in which they did it.
I had been a little concerned that Santana would have some trouble in his first start after the surgery. He showed me early on that any concern was needless. The fastball was fast, the changeup was still there, and, lo and behold, there was a nice little slider to befuddle those big Marlin bats.
By the top of the second inning, the game was over, for all intents and purposes. Of course, we didn’t know it at the time. But that Mets bottom of the first showed those Fish that the Mets were taking this opener very seriously indeed. And, as much as I was happy for Wright, I was even happier for Luis Castillo, who legged out what could very easily have been a double play. So, instead of Wright batting with two outs and none on, there was Luis on first with just one out. And Wright made it pay off.
(There’re now 49 seconds left in the basketball final and Duke is still hanging on with a one-point lead and the ball). Now they miss the shot and the ball bounces off Zoubek’s foot. Butler has now taken the clock down to 14 seconds and taken a timeout. Still another nail-biter for the NCAA. They’re back now and the cameras are all focused on Hayward. Oh well, Duke wins, I lose another bracket).
Now back to the Angels-Twins game and good ol’ former Yankee Hideki Matsui drives in the go-ahead run for the Angels with a single to right. It looks like Godzilla is still open for business. I find myself wondering what Johnny Damon did today. Upon checking, he went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 ribbies. He was pretty much the brightest light for the Tigers in their win over the Royals.
As good as Granderson looked in the Yankees loss to the Red Sox last night, it’s hard to believe that he and that big lug Nick Johnson will make up for the loss of clutch hitters like Damon and Matsui. I couldn’t be happier about it either.
But back to the Mets, I hadn’t mentioned Jeff Francoeur earlier. He looked good too, knocking in 2 rbi’s on the day. Come to think of it, I can’t think of any Mets that looked bad. Even the relief corps looked good, Fernando Nieve turning in two scoreless innings and K-Rod finishing up the same way as he always does; that is to say he was friggin’ great.
But there will be 161 more games, the first of which for our heroes begins Wednesday against these Marlins again, with John Maine going up against Ricky Nolasco. Manuel has Maine going as his Number Two if only because Mike Pelfrey gets banged around regularly against the Marlins. I wish I could say something nice here. I have absolutely no faith in John Maine. I’ve seen enough.
Just as this Mets team seems to feed off the intensity of a guy such as Santana, they also seem to absorb the flightiness of Maine. Maine will strike out a couple of guys and then just throw four straight balls, let the guy steal second, and just totally lose focus. I expect no better on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his opponent Ricky Nolasco has all the intensity of Johan Santana with about ½ the talent, which, against John Maine, should be more than enough.
I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be so happy if he makes me eat my harsh words over and over again for the entire season.
While Manuel worries about the bullpen, I’m more concerned with the inconsistency of these Mets starters. A bigger bunch of flakes is not to be found on this planet. (And probably the other planets as well but I have no way of checking).
Maine, Pelfrey, Perez….every series looks to be an adventure. Nobody could predict what they’ll do. Thankfully, all their performances aren’t bad, just most of them. And, more often than not, if they do manage to escape the first few innings unscathed, they will have thrown enough pitches to get taken out by the sixth inning anyway, putting that much additional burden on the relievers.
Aargh, but why get upset now? It’s been a beautiful day, following a beautiful night of the Yankees losing to their chief rivals. It was so nice to see Jorge lose one for them. As good a hitter as he is, he more than makes up for it with his pitch selection and ridiculous fielding. I’m so happy he’s a Yankee. I just wish poor Joba, the only Yankee I like, has to pitch to him.
I’ll start worrying Wednesday morning. Until then, I’ll watch replays of Mark Buehrle’s play.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Fingers in the Dike
Finally, the break! Whew! A reprieve.
My favorite baseball team finished out the first half just about as well as they could have, which is saying a lot really. With stars such as Francoeur and Murphy, and some pretty good pitching, all things considered, the Orange and Blue took that last series against the Reds after losing two of three from the Dodgers. And, oh yeah, the Phils took out their brooms before that.
Some of you may be saying, “Yeah, but it’s just the Reds”. To you I say, “Yeah, but it was the friggin’ Phillies and Dodgers too and they ain’t chopped liver”.
If you’re a Mets fan, you have to try to be optimistic. These players are playing their hearts out. They may be losing to the best teams but they’re holding their own, so to speak, with the rest of the league. And the schedule gets easier after the break.
Since the hitting hasn’t really been there, you have to recognize the good pitching, starting with that monster of a closer, K-Rod. I’ve never seen a tougher closer, and that includes Billy Wagner. It includes Mariano Rivera too, by the way, but why pick on Mariano?
Second in line for kudos would have to be Johan Santana. Stopper, leader, smart, tough as nails, that’s Mr. Santana. And he hasn’t really had his best stuff lately.
While the rest of the team has been on a slow trip to hell, Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana have lived up to their reputations and have kept a bad team only mediocre. Over the course of a 162 games, that’s not as insignificant as it may sound. If the Mets can be thankful for anything, it’s for those two guys.
On the batting side of things, the heroes become a lot harder to identify. I have to say David Wright has been himself, which is to say, pretty damned good overall but not so hot in July. He has just eight hits this month and just two rbi’s. It’s tough when there’s nobody getting on base and nobody who scares the opposing pitcher hitting behind you. But he is batting .324 overall and he’s starting tomorrow in the All-Star Game. So…..
I think Sheffield deserves some kudos. He’s forty years old, playing for a few hundred thousand dollars only, and doing all the things he was brought on board to do. That’s way more than anybody expected. And he’s the only real power threat. Wright has just five dingers on the year.
Everybody else has to get better. Cora is steady in the infield but usually produces almost nothing at the plate. Much the same could be said for Castillo and Schneider. Pagan will be a little better but hasn’t yet performed up to expectations. At least, I hope that’s the case.
Ryan Church was just beginning to look a little better at the plate before the trade that sent him packing to Atlanta. But he can’t hit a breaking pitch. I think Francoeur has way more upside and obviously, so did GM Omar Minaya. He’s somebody to worry about whereas Church really never was.
The depth chart currently shows a pretty decent lineup. An outfield of Pagan, Francoeur and Sheffield is not one to sneeze at. The infield is still particularly weak with Castillo and Cora manning the inside spots but what might hurt even more is not having more power at the corners. Not only has Wright failed to hit the long ball. Daniel Murphy hasn’t done nearly enough to provide power at a power position, first base.
Even with Murphy’s failure to hit though, he can surprise you in the field as he did last game with a beautiful grab on a foul ball. But let’s be honest, a .314 on-base percentage just doesn’t cut the mustard, especially if batting second.
The last Mets lineup though, the one that scored nine runs against Cincinnati, actually resembled a major league lineup. It featured a speedy Pagan leading off and a number two hitter in Castillo who can actually get on base and move the runner over. Wright’s a legitimate 3 and Sheff a legit number 4. Francoeur at 5 seems a good fit and I think Murphy will feel more comfortable at 6. It’s only fitting of course that Schneider and Cora should bring up the rear, but, compared with other teams’ 7 and 8 hitters, they don’t really lose a lot. And Cora has some speed and savvy on the basepaths, thus not slowing down Pagan or Castillo at the top of the order.
The bench isn’t bad either with Tatis to spell Murphy at first and Argenis Reyes to spell Castillo at second. In the outfield, Jeremy Reed has done pretty well so far and will back up Pagan in centerfield.
The starting rotation now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Livan Hernandez, crazy Ollie Perez and Fernando Nieve. Every one of those hurlers should give them a chance to win, even if Livan will bore us to death and both Perez and Nieve may tire in the fifth inning. That’s what relievers are for, right?
And that could be the rub. In order to stay in the hunt, the relief corps has to produce more than they have thus far. Except for K-Rod, nobody has really dazzled, especially not Sean Green. He has to start earning his money. Parnell has to be more consistent. I’m hoping Redding, Dessens and Misch can perform better than a law firm their combined names suggest. They may be getting a lot of action, especially on every fourth and fifth day. And Feliciano has to keep getting outs from those lefties.
So life is not over for our locals. By splitting with LA and Cincinnati, they stayed in contention at the break. They’ll start the 2nd half in fourth place but still within striking distance of the Phils, only 6 ½ games ahead.
But I’m thinking wildcard. The Phils may be too much.
My favorite baseball team finished out the first half just about as well as they could have, which is saying a lot really. With stars such as Francoeur and Murphy, and some pretty good pitching, all things considered, the Orange and Blue took that last series against the Reds after losing two of three from the Dodgers. And, oh yeah, the Phils took out their brooms before that.
Some of you may be saying, “Yeah, but it’s just the Reds”. To you I say, “Yeah, but it was the friggin’ Phillies and Dodgers too and they ain’t chopped liver”.
If you’re a Mets fan, you have to try to be optimistic. These players are playing their hearts out. They may be losing to the best teams but they’re holding their own, so to speak, with the rest of the league. And the schedule gets easier after the break.
Since the hitting hasn’t really been there, you have to recognize the good pitching, starting with that monster of a closer, K-Rod. I’ve never seen a tougher closer, and that includes Billy Wagner. It includes Mariano Rivera too, by the way, but why pick on Mariano?
Second in line for kudos would have to be Johan Santana. Stopper, leader, smart, tough as nails, that’s Mr. Santana. And he hasn’t really had his best stuff lately.
While the rest of the team has been on a slow trip to hell, Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana have lived up to their reputations and have kept a bad team only mediocre. Over the course of a 162 games, that’s not as insignificant as it may sound. If the Mets can be thankful for anything, it’s for those two guys.
On the batting side of things, the heroes become a lot harder to identify. I have to say David Wright has been himself, which is to say, pretty damned good overall but not so hot in July. He has just eight hits this month and just two rbi’s. It’s tough when there’s nobody getting on base and nobody who scares the opposing pitcher hitting behind you. But he is batting .324 overall and he’s starting tomorrow in the All-Star Game. So…..
I think Sheffield deserves some kudos. He’s forty years old, playing for a few hundred thousand dollars only, and doing all the things he was brought on board to do. That’s way more than anybody expected. And he’s the only real power threat. Wright has just five dingers on the year.
Everybody else has to get better. Cora is steady in the infield but usually produces almost nothing at the plate. Much the same could be said for Castillo and Schneider. Pagan will be a little better but hasn’t yet performed up to expectations. At least, I hope that’s the case.
Ryan Church was just beginning to look a little better at the plate before the trade that sent him packing to Atlanta. But he can’t hit a breaking pitch. I think Francoeur has way more upside and obviously, so did GM Omar Minaya. He’s somebody to worry about whereas Church really never was.
The depth chart currently shows a pretty decent lineup. An outfield of Pagan, Francoeur and Sheffield is not one to sneeze at. The infield is still particularly weak with Castillo and Cora manning the inside spots but what might hurt even more is not having more power at the corners. Not only has Wright failed to hit the long ball. Daniel Murphy hasn’t done nearly enough to provide power at a power position, first base.
Even with Murphy’s failure to hit though, he can surprise you in the field as he did last game with a beautiful grab on a foul ball. But let’s be honest, a .314 on-base percentage just doesn’t cut the mustard, especially if batting second.
The last Mets lineup though, the one that scored nine runs against Cincinnati, actually resembled a major league lineup. It featured a speedy Pagan leading off and a number two hitter in Castillo who can actually get on base and move the runner over. Wright’s a legitimate 3 and Sheff a legit number 4. Francoeur at 5 seems a good fit and I think Murphy will feel more comfortable at 6. It’s only fitting of course that Schneider and Cora should bring up the rear, but, compared with other teams’ 7 and 8 hitters, they don’t really lose a lot. And Cora has some speed and savvy on the basepaths, thus not slowing down Pagan or Castillo at the top of the order.
The bench isn’t bad either with Tatis to spell Murphy at first and Argenis Reyes to spell Castillo at second. In the outfield, Jeremy Reed has done pretty well so far and will back up Pagan in centerfield.
The starting rotation now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Livan Hernandez, crazy Ollie Perez and Fernando Nieve. Every one of those hurlers should give them a chance to win, even if Livan will bore us to death and both Perez and Nieve may tire in the fifth inning. That’s what relievers are for, right?
And that could be the rub. In order to stay in the hunt, the relief corps has to produce more than they have thus far. Except for K-Rod, nobody has really dazzled, especially not Sean Green. He has to start earning his money. Parnell has to be more consistent. I’m hoping Redding, Dessens and Misch can perform better than a law firm their combined names suggest. They may be getting a lot of action, especially on every fourth and fifth day. And Feliciano has to keep getting outs from those lefties.
So life is not over for our locals. By splitting with LA and Cincinnati, they stayed in contention at the break. They’ll start the 2nd half in fourth place but still within striking distance of the Phils, only 6 ½ games ahead.
But I’m thinking wildcard. The Phils may be too much.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
From Bad to Worse?
The Mets season is over. I’m declaring them dead.
They’re not the Mets anyway, not the Mets I expected and not even the Mets I foresaw if they had some bad luck. Even though I realized at the season’s inception that the Mets had been awfully lucky over the last few years from an injury standpoint, especially with their core players, I never thought they’d lose them all.
Even their ace pitcher can’t win these days. Santana has lost four of his last six. There is just no hitting usually, and last night the fielding went with it. It’s really too sad a story to stay with. You could liken it to hanging around a hospital. That’s not for me, especially when there are so many other stories, so many other channels.
For good reasons or bad, Omar has decided to stand pat with a AAA team. He’s done it too long. I’m tired of watching minor league ball. The only baseball-related things I can look forward to this year are the All-Star game and my fantasy team, which has been almost as unlucky as the Mets.
This somewhat stubborn refusal by the Mets to get better comes at a bad time. Oh sure, there has been Wimbledon and the U.S. soccer team, the NBA Draft and some other stuff, but really, it’s kind of difficult, y’know? I mean, how excited can I really get over the Williams sisters? The gracious Venus is as easy to root for as her younger arrogant sister is not. And unless and until an American man can break into the top echelon, it’s tough to follow the men’s action.
As for soccer, after cheering like a mad man for the likes of Donovan and Dempsey, Howard, Spector and Davies, only to watch their heartbreak in the final against Brazil, can I really stay motivated until the World Cup? I don’t think so. It was a great game though, and coming on the heels of their victory over Spain, they played valiantly for the full 90 minutes, even if their efforts were fruitful for only 45. They just seemed to run out of gas in that second half, especially after giving up that almost impossible to stop goal in the first minute or so of the second half.
But it’s the beginning of July and I shouldn’t have to amuse myself with other sports. The American pastime is still baseball, isn’t it? You wouldn’t know it from watching the National League action in New York though. Did I say action? I don’t know that you can call it that.
The Evil Empire is impossible to root for, at least for this fan, and maybe I’ll take notice if they should fire Cashman, or reduce ticket prices, or just shut up about how many pitches have been thrown, how many strikes, how many balls and on and on. They won’t catch the Red Sox anyway, this despite Papelbon’s failure to close out last night’s deal.
Besides, the team I can root for down the stretch is the Brewers. That became obvious to me last night as I watched those big dudes from Milwaukee, Hart and Hardy and Fielder and Braun. You even get sausage races if you’re a Brewer fan. They’ve got representative pitching, at the very least, and the players seem to have character.
In the American League, I’ll continue to pull for the Rangers, another lovable team that’s been together now for several years of mostly hard luck and is now coming of age, even without their superstar Josh Hamilton. The Twins are a nice team too, with lots of good pitching and a similar situation with home-grown guys making it big. And, last but not least, they pay absolutely no attention to pitch counts.
The Yankee obsession with pitch counts continued last night as Joba reached about a hundred pitches after 5 1/3 innings. The idiots on the bench took him out again, of course, and the Yanks relievers took over. Last night, they did the job and Bruney eventually picked up the win as Arod hit a gargantuan 2-run homer. But those idiots on the bench and in the GM’s office sure put a lot of pressure on Joba. You could look at each failed Joba performance as a self-fulfilled prophecy.
Aah! Who am I kidding? I’ll still be sucked in to the Mets action. Even now, I find myself with the tube in the background, watching Gary and Keith recap yesterday’s failures. Now Jerry’s talking about the need for them to relax a little bit, an almost impossible wish, given the whole Mash-unit situation.
Okay, my favorite blue and orange team is still only 2 games below .500 and just four games behind the Phils, a game behind the Marlins, a game ahead of the Braves. Is that really such a good reason to despair? After all, if we Mets fans know anything, it’s that big leads can be lost, and a lot depends on how the team plays in September.
And Beltran’s bone bruise is indeed just a bruise. Reyes and Delgado will be returning too. The pitching staff remains fairly strong, strong enough to compete in this weak NL East anyway. So I’ll wait and see. I’ll be a true fan.
But DeRosa was right there for the taking. And Holliday is supposed to be available. Couldn’t management see its way clear to picking up somebody? Wouldn’t even one addition to the roster help these guys out a little. When Church and Schneider are the glue holding a team together, that’s pretty sad.
Okay, that’s enough. Besides, Wright is up now. God willing, they’ll pitch to him.
They’re not the Mets anyway, not the Mets I expected and not even the Mets I foresaw if they had some bad luck. Even though I realized at the season’s inception that the Mets had been awfully lucky over the last few years from an injury standpoint, especially with their core players, I never thought they’d lose them all.
Even their ace pitcher can’t win these days. Santana has lost four of his last six. There is just no hitting usually, and last night the fielding went with it. It’s really too sad a story to stay with. You could liken it to hanging around a hospital. That’s not for me, especially when there are so many other stories, so many other channels.
For good reasons or bad, Omar has decided to stand pat with a AAA team. He’s done it too long. I’m tired of watching minor league ball. The only baseball-related things I can look forward to this year are the All-Star game and my fantasy team, which has been almost as unlucky as the Mets.
This somewhat stubborn refusal by the Mets to get better comes at a bad time. Oh sure, there has been Wimbledon and the U.S. soccer team, the NBA Draft and some other stuff, but really, it’s kind of difficult, y’know? I mean, how excited can I really get over the Williams sisters? The gracious Venus is as easy to root for as her younger arrogant sister is not. And unless and until an American man can break into the top echelon, it’s tough to follow the men’s action.
As for soccer, after cheering like a mad man for the likes of Donovan and Dempsey, Howard, Spector and Davies, only to watch their heartbreak in the final against Brazil, can I really stay motivated until the World Cup? I don’t think so. It was a great game though, and coming on the heels of their victory over Spain, they played valiantly for the full 90 minutes, even if their efforts were fruitful for only 45. They just seemed to run out of gas in that second half, especially after giving up that almost impossible to stop goal in the first minute or so of the second half.
But it’s the beginning of July and I shouldn’t have to amuse myself with other sports. The American pastime is still baseball, isn’t it? You wouldn’t know it from watching the National League action in New York though. Did I say action? I don’t know that you can call it that.
The Evil Empire is impossible to root for, at least for this fan, and maybe I’ll take notice if they should fire Cashman, or reduce ticket prices, or just shut up about how many pitches have been thrown, how many strikes, how many balls and on and on. They won’t catch the Red Sox anyway, this despite Papelbon’s failure to close out last night’s deal.
Besides, the team I can root for down the stretch is the Brewers. That became obvious to me last night as I watched those big dudes from Milwaukee, Hart and Hardy and Fielder and Braun. You even get sausage races if you’re a Brewer fan. They’ve got representative pitching, at the very least, and the players seem to have character.
In the American League, I’ll continue to pull for the Rangers, another lovable team that’s been together now for several years of mostly hard luck and is now coming of age, even without their superstar Josh Hamilton. The Twins are a nice team too, with lots of good pitching and a similar situation with home-grown guys making it big. And, last but not least, they pay absolutely no attention to pitch counts.
The Yankee obsession with pitch counts continued last night as Joba reached about a hundred pitches after 5 1/3 innings. The idiots on the bench took him out again, of course, and the Yanks relievers took over. Last night, they did the job and Bruney eventually picked up the win as Arod hit a gargantuan 2-run homer. But those idiots on the bench and in the GM’s office sure put a lot of pressure on Joba. You could look at each failed Joba performance as a self-fulfilled prophecy.
Aah! Who am I kidding? I’ll still be sucked in to the Mets action. Even now, I find myself with the tube in the background, watching Gary and Keith recap yesterday’s failures. Now Jerry’s talking about the need for them to relax a little bit, an almost impossible wish, given the whole Mash-unit situation.
Okay, my favorite blue and orange team is still only 2 games below .500 and just four games behind the Phils, a game behind the Marlins, a game ahead of the Braves. Is that really such a good reason to despair? After all, if we Mets fans know anything, it’s that big leads can be lost, and a lot depends on how the team plays in September.
And Beltran’s bone bruise is indeed just a bruise. Reyes and Delgado will be returning too. The pitching staff remains fairly strong, strong enough to compete in this weak NL East anyway. So I’ll wait and see. I’ll be a true fan.
But DeRosa was right there for the taking. And Holliday is supposed to be available. Couldn’t management see its way clear to picking up somebody? Wouldn’t even one addition to the roster help these guys out a little. When Church and Schneider are the glue holding a team together, that’s pretty sad.
Okay, that’s enough. Besides, Wright is up now. God willing, they’ll pitch to him.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
It's Just a Game
Well, here we are on Sunday afternoon, the Mets game just starting, and we’ve got Johan Santana going against the hated Yankees. Again. The Yanks have A.J. Burnet going so it should be a game more reminiscent of the opener, the one Luis Castillo lost.
Let’s not forget that in our rush to forgive him. I know he said some things after the game that made everybody happy, and he performed pretty well in Game 2. But his gaffe was a classic choke. He was overwhelmed by the moment. That doesn’t bode well for the future.
It should have been a great Friday night. (Luis just caught a popup to derisive applause). Instead, what we got was misery. It should have been a story of Joba and the equally as stiff-necked Jorge Posada fighting for four innings, it should have been about Joe Girardi totally blowing the game by inserting Mariano Rivera into the game in the eighth, a move that totally backfired when David Wright ripped a double to right center. It should have been the tale of K-Rod vs. A-Rod, a bout clearly won by K-Rod as he induced the easy popup to second base.
But no, what we got was a stumblin’ bumblin’ Luis Castillo. You knew he was going to miss it from the start. His legs weren’t working right, you could see he was flustered, and for a second it looked as if he wouldn’t even get under the ball. But instead, he just opened his mitt as far as he could spread it, like a frying pan, and his hands proved as hard as one, as the ball bounced a foot in the air as Luis fell to the ground.
Let’s not forget how pitiful it was, that’s all. Yeah, he apologized. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I had been one of his advocates, willing to accept his shortcomings for his veteran presence. But not after Friday night. Luis can get together with his friend Ryan Church, go down to the bus station, and buy a ticket anywhere they want.
Yes, Ryan Church hit a big homer the other day. That’s just great. It was his first homer in eons. It’ll likely be his last homer for a while. Did I say homer? It’ll probably be one of the few hits he gets this month. Francesa keeps saying Manuel is picking on him. I say “Good”!
Church’s best point is that he’s usually ineffectual. The rest of the time, he loses games.
We’ve got Fernando Martinez now. Send Church packing. Send Castillo packing. They’re wonderful people but they either don’t touch third base on the way home or they don’t catch fly balls with the game on the line.
Understanding? Sorry, my plate is full. I can’t take any more. Of course I realize the Mets can’t really just drop the two of them, especially in their depleted state, but let’s not expect too much from them. Bat for Church in big spots and spell Castillo with defensive replacements for the rest of his contract. They both deserve the disdain.
We’ve all faced situations like Castillo’s. We all choke up a bit in critical situations, usually if we’re really not prepared. The job interviewer opens with “tell me about yourself” and if you really hadn’t thought about it, you might have a lot of trouble. Practice and experience make those moments go away. Ordinarily.
Two games that should have been in the book as wins were lost. Two big wins became two big losses. As I said, my plate is full. When your veterans can’t perform under pressure, you may as well pack it in.
As this is written, Santana is getting banged around and Martinez missed the cutoff man. While yesterday was the day of Fernando, Martinez and Nieve, today will not be a repeat.
It’s now 4-zip. It’s probably over, or may as well be. Maybe I’ll switch to the parade. Bernie’s playing guitar there and with no less than another Feliciano, the one who wants you to light his fire. Well, Wright got still another hit, but who should come up but ol’ rally-killin’ Church. He thus far today has grounded out on the first pitch he was offered. Typical day for Church. And he just struck out, what a surprise.
The news isn’t all bad for the Mets though. Omir Santos has been a pleasant surprise. I like Alex Cora. Sheffield looks bad quite a lot but then does pop one over the wall once in a while. He looks for the base on balls much too often and sometimes looks silly doing it.
The pitching’s been pretty good too. It’ll certainly help them stay in the race, but this club is not a winner. It’s a shame too. They have some excellent individuals, Wright, Beltran, Santana, Reyes and Delgado when they play, but they seem to never put it together as a team, not as the Phillies do.
So I’m just narrowing my expectations. They’ll probably be able to play .500 ball until the return of Reyes and then maybe they’ll play little better than that. But they just don’t have enough players who play as if they care. Why should I get my hopes up?
In the meantime, I’ll watch. I’ll watch as if I were watching one of Joan Payson’s comic teams of yesteryear. A combination of hard luck and bad play has pretty much done them in for 2009. You can’t get good luck as they did Friday night and then throw it away, or better put, bumble it all away. If it takes the heart out of a fan, I’m sure it does much the same to the team.
But it’s just a game. Maybe Castillo should remember that. If he comes away with anything after this singular experience of his, it should be that. You’re supposed to be having fun, relishing the opportunity to show 50,000 fans just how good you are.
Let’s not forget that in our rush to forgive him. I know he said some things after the game that made everybody happy, and he performed pretty well in Game 2. But his gaffe was a classic choke. He was overwhelmed by the moment. That doesn’t bode well for the future.
It should have been a great Friday night. (Luis just caught a popup to derisive applause). Instead, what we got was misery. It should have been a story of Joba and the equally as stiff-necked Jorge Posada fighting for four innings, it should have been about Joe Girardi totally blowing the game by inserting Mariano Rivera into the game in the eighth, a move that totally backfired when David Wright ripped a double to right center. It should have been the tale of K-Rod vs. A-Rod, a bout clearly won by K-Rod as he induced the easy popup to second base.
But no, what we got was a stumblin’ bumblin’ Luis Castillo. You knew he was going to miss it from the start. His legs weren’t working right, you could see he was flustered, and for a second it looked as if he wouldn’t even get under the ball. But instead, he just opened his mitt as far as he could spread it, like a frying pan, and his hands proved as hard as one, as the ball bounced a foot in the air as Luis fell to the ground.
Let’s not forget how pitiful it was, that’s all. Yeah, he apologized. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I had been one of his advocates, willing to accept his shortcomings for his veteran presence. But not after Friday night. Luis can get together with his friend Ryan Church, go down to the bus station, and buy a ticket anywhere they want.
Yes, Ryan Church hit a big homer the other day. That’s just great. It was his first homer in eons. It’ll likely be his last homer for a while. Did I say homer? It’ll probably be one of the few hits he gets this month. Francesa keeps saying Manuel is picking on him. I say “Good”!
Church’s best point is that he’s usually ineffectual. The rest of the time, he loses games.
We’ve got Fernando Martinez now. Send Church packing. Send Castillo packing. They’re wonderful people but they either don’t touch third base on the way home or they don’t catch fly balls with the game on the line.
Understanding? Sorry, my plate is full. I can’t take any more. Of course I realize the Mets can’t really just drop the two of them, especially in their depleted state, but let’s not expect too much from them. Bat for Church in big spots and spell Castillo with defensive replacements for the rest of his contract. They both deserve the disdain.
We’ve all faced situations like Castillo’s. We all choke up a bit in critical situations, usually if we’re really not prepared. The job interviewer opens with “tell me about yourself” and if you really hadn’t thought about it, you might have a lot of trouble. Practice and experience make those moments go away. Ordinarily.
Two games that should have been in the book as wins were lost. Two big wins became two big losses. As I said, my plate is full. When your veterans can’t perform under pressure, you may as well pack it in.
As this is written, Santana is getting banged around and Martinez missed the cutoff man. While yesterday was the day of Fernando, Martinez and Nieve, today will not be a repeat.
It’s now 4-zip. It’s probably over, or may as well be. Maybe I’ll switch to the parade. Bernie’s playing guitar there and with no less than another Feliciano, the one who wants you to light his fire. Well, Wright got still another hit, but who should come up but ol’ rally-killin’ Church. He thus far today has grounded out on the first pitch he was offered. Typical day for Church. And he just struck out, what a surprise.
The news isn’t all bad for the Mets though. Omir Santos has been a pleasant surprise. I like Alex Cora. Sheffield looks bad quite a lot but then does pop one over the wall once in a while. He looks for the base on balls much too often and sometimes looks silly doing it.
The pitching’s been pretty good too. It’ll certainly help them stay in the race, but this club is not a winner. It’s a shame too. They have some excellent individuals, Wright, Beltran, Santana, Reyes and Delgado when they play, but they seem to never put it together as a team, not as the Phillies do.
So I’m just narrowing my expectations. They’ll probably be able to play .500 ball until the return of Reyes and then maybe they’ll play little better than that. But they just don’t have enough players who play as if they care. Why should I get my hopes up?
In the meantime, I’ll watch. I’ll watch as if I were watching one of Joan Payson’s comic teams of yesteryear. A combination of hard luck and bad play has pretty much done them in for 2009. You can’t get good luck as they did Friday night and then throw it away, or better put, bumble it all away. If it takes the heart out of a fan, I’m sure it does much the same to the team.
But it’s just a game. Maybe Castillo should remember that. If he comes away with anything after this singular experience of his, it should be that. You’re supposed to be having fun, relishing the opportunity to show 50,000 fans just how good you are.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Mets Hanging On
It’s always nice to say something that hasn’t been said before, but it’s getting tougher. I did say last time that things for the Mets could only get better and surely, not too many people were saying THAT, not after having been swept by the Dodgers, not after having lost a game to a dummy missing a bag, not after seeing a bunch of errors at shortstop, and not after deciding to play a bad left fielder at first base.
But I figured things could only get better. The shortstop would get more comfortable, the bad left fielder could be better at first base, and guys like Sheffield, if they were to heat up, could provide just enough scoring to beat Boston at least once before going out to Washington and Florida, especially if the pitching held up.
The pitching did hold up too, especially that first guy in the rotation, none other than Johan Santana. He was a monster in that series opener, and there was no better moment than seeing him stare down and then shout down the ugly brute Youkilis after hitting him with a pitch. That was the moment things started to turn around.
Everything seemed easier after that. After hitting Youkilis, Santana struck out dangerous Jason Bay swinging for the third out. In the sixth he endured still another throwing error by Martinez and in the seventh he was superb, striking out Ortiz once again and fanning Youkilis, just in case there was any doubt who was tougher that day.
And the toughness seemed to carry into Game 2 as well. Pelfrey matched zeroes with Beckett after navigating a tough first inning, and when Papelbon came out for the ninth, it appeared that this game would be lost, despite our local boys’ best efforts. Sheffield managed to draw a walk but then Papelbon struck out Wright and Reed, and it looked to be all over but the shoutin’.
But it was not to be. Omir Santos showed that he could hit a fastball, driving a 97-mile offering over the fence and the Mets incredibly had the lead. And J.J. Putz closed it out. No problem.
Even the third game could have gone the Metsies way, as Wakefield was terrible and Redding wasn’t too bad. But Mets reliever Stokes was awful and the game became a rout. But the Mets could be happy, relatively speaking, because things could have been so much worse.
The Mets had survived. Then they managed to take the first game from the Nationals behind Sheffield, who’s hitting about .400 since taking over at the cleanup spot for Delgado. This game went more or less according to plan, from a pitching standpoint anyway, as Maine and the Mets survived some shaky pitching from Parnell. Putz and the incredibly reliable Francisco Rodriguez closed it out.
Is it possible that this team plays better when it’s pressed? It sure would seem that way. And that’s a good thing, keeping in mind the failures from the past. Now they may have one more huge problem to overcome though, that being the possible problems Beltran may experience with his knee. He’s having an MRI done today.
Losing Beltran for any extended period of time would be a killer though, especially if nobody else is able to come back, especially Reyes. The Mets could do nicely without Church, very nicely actually, and without Schneider too. And Sheffield has so far at least been able to spell Delgado in the lineup while Daniel Murphy has been great so far spelling him in the field.
But the Mets are running out of bodies, and there is no body that will spell Beltran, for Beltran does everything for this team, big hitting from both sides of the plate, smooth fielding, opportune running….everything, including leadership.
Although the media types would have you believe this is Wright’s team, that’s arrant nonsense. The real leader, if this team needs a leader, is Beltran, not that he really tries to lead. He just does almost everything the right way, the complete baseball player. When Wright is striking out with runners on base, Beltran keeps hitting. When Wright throws another ball away, Beltran just keeps making all the plays.
Not that I want to pick on Wright, quite the opposite! Wright’s great, a great team guy, a guy who plays hard all the time. There’s nobody I’d rather have as my third baseman. But he’s no Beltran and that’s no knock. Nobody is. What Wright is is an Anglo, and everybody from their own management to the media wants desperately to believe that an Anglo is the leader. And if he’s not, they will work to make things look that way.
To David’s credit, he does nothing to perpetuate the nonsense. When questioned, he says all the right things, but I’ve never heard Wright say he’s the leader. I’ve heard the idiots on ESPN say it, even Jerry Manuel has said it, but none of the players has signed up for Wright’s team.
Without Beltran, all bets are off….even if Fernando Martinez, the Mets great minor-leaguer, performs like the future star he is likely to be, I have to believe that he won’t have the same impact as would a missing Beltran, number 3 on your lineup card and pencilled in as the centerfielder and stolen base leader, speaking from a percentage basis.
But anything’s possible when you have pitching. Look at San Diego. They’ve won something like 10 in a row with just about nobody to fear in their lineup. Yeah, they have Adrian Gonzales and Brian Giles and then mostly nothing. But they do have Peavy and Young at the top of their rotation, supplemented by three talented youngsters. And they do have Heath Bell and Cla Meredith and some other nice relievers.
So let’s root for Maine and Pelfrey, Livan and Redding. Let’s look forward to good outings from K-Rod and Putz, Green and Feliciano.
And hope for at least one Carlos.
But I figured things could only get better. The shortstop would get more comfortable, the bad left fielder could be better at first base, and guys like Sheffield, if they were to heat up, could provide just enough scoring to beat Boston at least once before going out to Washington and Florida, especially if the pitching held up.
The pitching did hold up too, especially that first guy in the rotation, none other than Johan Santana. He was a monster in that series opener, and there was no better moment than seeing him stare down and then shout down the ugly brute Youkilis after hitting him with a pitch. That was the moment things started to turn around.
Everything seemed easier after that. After hitting Youkilis, Santana struck out dangerous Jason Bay swinging for the third out. In the sixth he endured still another throwing error by Martinez and in the seventh he was superb, striking out Ortiz once again and fanning Youkilis, just in case there was any doubt who was tougher that day.
And the toughness seemed to carry into Game 2 as well. Pelfrey matched zeroes with Beckett after navigating a tough first inning, and when Papelbon came out for the ninth, it appeared that this game would be lost, despite our local boys’ best efforts. Sheffield managed to draw a walk but then Papelbon struck out Wright and Reed, and it looked to be all over but the shoutin’.
But it was not to be. Omir Santos showed that he could hit a fastball, driving a 97-mile offering over the fence and the Mets incredibly had the lead. And J.J. Putz closed it out. No problem.
Even the third game could have gone the Metsies way, as Wakefield was terrible and Redding wasn’t too bad. But Mets reliever Stokes was awful and the game became a rout. But the Mets could be happy, relatively speaking, because things could have been so much worse.
The Mets had survived. Then they managed to take the first game from the Nationals behind Sheffield, who’s hitting about .400 since taking over at the cleanup spot for Delgado. This game went more or less according to plan, from a pitching standpoint anyway, as Maine and the Mets survived some shaky pitching from Parnell. Putz and the incredibly reliable Francisco Rodriguez closed it out.
Is it possible that this team plays better when it’s pressed? It sure would seem that way. And that’s a good thing, keeping in mind the failures from the past. Now they may have one more huge problem to overcome though, that being the possible problems Beltran may experience with his knee. He’s having an MRI done today.
Losing Beltran for any extended period of time would be a killer though, especially if nobody else is able to come back, especially Reyes. The Mets could do nicely without Church, very nicely actually, and without Schneider too. And Sheffield has so far at least been able to spell Delgado in the lineup while Daniel Murphy has been great so far spelling him in the field.
But the Mets are running out of bodies, and there is no body that will spell Beltran, for Beltran does everything for this team, big hitting from both sides of the plate, smooth fielding, opportune running….everything, including leadership.
Although the media types would have you believe this is Wright’s team, that’s arrant nonsense. The real leader, if this team needs a leader, is Beltran, not that he really tries to lead. He just does almost everything the right way, the complete baseball player. When Wright is striking out with runners on base, Beltran keeps hitting. When Wright throws another ball away, Beltran just keeps making all the plays.
Not that I want to pick on Wright, quite the opposite! Wright’s great, a great team guy, a guy who plays hard all the time. There’s nobody I’d rather have as my third baseman. But he’s no Beltran and that’s no knock. Nobody is. What Wright is is an Anglo, and everybody from their own management to the media wants desperately to believe that an Anglo is the leader. And if he’s not, they will work to make things look that way.
To David’s credit, he does nothing to perpetuate the nonsense. When questioned, he says all the right things, but I’ve never heard Wright say he’s the leader. I’ve heard the idiots on ESPN say it, even Jerry Manuel has said it, but none of the players has signed up for Wright’s team.
Without Beltran, all bets are off….even if Fernando Martinez, the Mets great minor-leaguer, performs like the future star he is likely to be, I have to believe that he won’t have the same impact as would a missing Beltran, number 3 on your lineup card and pencilled in as the centerfielder and stolen base leader, speaking from a percentage basis.
But anything’s possible when you have pitching. Look at San Diego. They’ve won something like 10 in a row with just about nobody to fear in their lineup. Yeah, they have Adrian Gonzales and Brian Giles and then mostly nothing. But they do have Peavy and Young at the top of their rotation, supplemented by three talented youngsters. And they do have Heath Bell and Cla Meredith and some other nice relievers.
So let’s root for Maine and Pelfrey, Livan and Redding. Let’s look forward to good outings from K-Rod and Putz, Green and Feliciano.
And hope for at least one Carlos.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Mets and Manny - One And Done
I had expected a blowout. After all, Chan Ho Park never had anything, no wins, no stuff, no control, you name it, he didn’t have it, except maybe a plane ticket out. The Mets, on the other hand, had only the best pitcher in both leagues on the mound, the guy with the awful stuff, that fantastic control and overpowering confidence.
And hadn’t the Mets come out of their funk? Hadn’t they just beat the Braves in Atlanta twice in a row. Wasn’t Beltran still knocking the cover off? Wasn’t Delgado now in the lineup? And wasn’t David Wright starting to look less ridiculous out there?
Yeah, I wanted a blowout but what I got was so much better….a pitching duel to match any I could remember, in recent memory anyway. Who was that guy on the mound? What had he done with Chan Ho? And how did he keep befuddling all those Mets batters?
For six full innings, they matched zeroes and Park had allowed just one hit, Santana was doing a better job with strikeouts but Park may have looked even more masterful, as he doesn’t have the wicked fastball or changeup that Santana mixes in to so much effect.
As anyone would have expected, the game changed as soon as Park left the game, ironically enough, for an Eric Bruntlett that Santana just blew away. (Park had at least managed to walk twice).
You knew that the Mets would score, you just wondered how they’d do it. You didn’t have to wait long. Scott Eyre walked Delgado to open the bottom of the 7th but then got Wright on a pop and lucked out when Murphy drove a ball to deep left center for the second out.
The Mets pinch-hit Tatis for Jeremy Reed to get that right-handed bat in the lineup. The Phils matched up by bringing in their righthander Durbin. Tatis gave a mighty swing that sent his broken bat all the way to shortstop but left the ball dribbling down the third base line.
The play had trouble written all over it and trouble was just what the Phillies got. Third baseman Pedro Feliz charged the ball and unleashed a wild throw to first that got past the first baseman and all the way to the wall in short right field.
Delgado meanwhile had advanced to second and chugged on down to third upon seeing the overthrow. For whatever reason, either because Tatis was on his way to second or because he didn’t ever expect chuggin’ Delgado to advance, or maybe he even saw Razor Shines, the third base coach throw up the stop sign, Werth hesitated for a second or two.
It was all Carlos needed. Ignoring the stop sign, here came big Carlos. When he finally did release the ball, Werth threw a strike to the plate but he had waited too long. Delgado hit the dirt and was sliding through the catcher’s feet when he got tagged. The Mets had their one.
Why did Carlos go? Because he knew, Chan Ho knew, the Mets bench knew, the fans in the stadium knew and everybody at home watching knew that one run was all that was going to be needed on this day.
Oh sure, there was some concern on my part when Manuel brought in Ryan Church to bat for Santana shortly thereafter. Especially after Church struck out swinging on a ridiculous outside pitch and who should I see warming up but Pedro Felicicano!
But Pedro would prevail on this day. He must have known Delgado would pummel him if he didn’t. And, after Victorino threw another scare into everybody, Feliciano managed to strike out hulking Ryan Howard.
That’s when I really knew it was over. If Feliciano wouldn’t allow himself to lose it, there was no way that K-Rod would. Today it would be one and done.
And of course it was, despite the two long, long fly balls hit by Ibanez and Stairs in the top of the ninth. Beltran squeezed the last out and it was over. The one run would carry the day.
And speaking of “one and done”, I just learned that Manny Ramirez, probably my second favorite player in MLB (second to Beltran), failed a drug test and will be suspended for fifty games, costing himself 7.7 million dollars. It looks as if Major League Baseball is serious.
One and done.
And hadn’t the Mets come out of their funk? Hadn’t they just beat the Braves in Atlanta twice in a row. Wasn’t Beltran still knocking the cover off? Wasn’t Delgado now in the lineup? And wasn’t David Wright starting to look less ridiculous out there?
Yeah, I wanted a blowout but what I got was so much better….a pitching duel to match any I could remember, in recent memory anyway. Who was that guy on the mound? What had he done with Chan Ho? And how did he keep befuddling all those Mets batters?
For six full innings, they matched zeroes and Park had allowed just one hit, Santana was doing a better job with strikeouts but Park may have looked even more masterful, as he doesn’t have the wicked fastball or changeup that Santana mixes in to so much effect.
As anyone would have expected, the game changed as soon as Park left the game, ironically enough, for an Eric Bruntlett that Santana just blew away. (Park had at least managed to walk twice).
You knew that the Mets would score, you just wondered how they’d do it. You didn’t have to wait long. Scott Eyre walked Delgado to open the bottom of the 7th but then got Wright on a pop and lucked out when Murphy drove a ball to deep left center for the second out.
The Mets pinch-hit Tatis for Jeremy Reed to get that right-handed bat in the lineup. The Phils matched up by bringing in their righthander Durbin. Tatis gave a mighty swing that sent his broken bat all the way to shortstop but left the ball dribbling down the third base line.
The play had trouble written all over it and trouble was just what the Phillies got. Third baseman Pedro Feliz charged the ball and unleashed a wild throw to first that got past the first baseman and all the way to the wall in short right field.
Delgado meanwhile had advanced to second and chugged on down to third upon seeing the overthrow. For whatever reason, either because Tatis was on his way to second or because he didn’t ever expect chuggin’ Delgado to advance, or maybe he even saw Razor Shines, the third base coach throw up the stop sign, Werth hesitated for a second or two.
It was all Carlos needed. Ignoring the stop sign, here came big Carlos. When he finally did release the ball, Werth threw a strike to the plate but he had waited too long. Delgado hit the dirt and was sliding through the catcher’s feet when he got tagged. The Mets had their one.
Why did Carlos go? Because he knew, Chan Ho knew, the Mets bench knew, the fans in the stadium knew and everybody at home watching knew that one run was all that was going to be needed on this day.
Oh sure, there was some concern on my part when Manuel brought in Ryan Church to bat for Santana shortly thereafter. Especially after Church struck out swinging on a ridiculous outside pitch and who should I see warming up but Pedro Felicicano!
But Pedro would prevail on this day. He must have known Delgado would pummel him if he didn’t. And, after Victorino threw another scare into everybody, Feliciano managed to strike out hulking Ryan Howard.
That’s when I really knew it was over. If Feliciano wouldn’t allow himself to lose it, there was no way that K-Rod would. Today it would be one and done.
And of course it was, despite the two long, long fly balls hit by Ibanez and Stairs in the top of the ninth. Beltran squeezed the last out and it was over. The one run would carry the day.
And speaking of “one and done”, I just learned that Manny Ramirez, probably my second favorite player in MLB (second to Beltran), failed a drug test and will be suspended for fifty games, costing himself 7.7 million dollars. It looks as if Major League Baseball is serious.
One and done.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thankfully Wrong....
Okay, I was wrong. The Mets weren’t in trouble after all. It didn’t matter that they lost a really tough on on Tuesday night, that Jerry Manuel hadn’t let Johan Santana finish the game, or that the Phils knocked three different relievers around to the tune of six runs.
Within a few hours of my Wednesday column of doom, the Mets would come back. John Maine survived and Jose Reyes helped cement the win in Game 2. And last night, Oliver Perez and Carlos Delgado did even better.But, best of all maybe was the way they did it in Game 3. Phils starter Jamie Moyer had pretty much shut the Mets down while Oliver Perez had stymied the Phils even more spectacularly. But with the score tied at 1 in the eighth, Perez got into some trouble, hitting Ryan Howard with a pitch to load the bases. Stepping up to the plate was none other than Jayson Werth, who had slugged a huge homer off Perez in the 6th to tie the game.
And who should Manuel call on to bail the Mets out of a jam? None other than the unflappable Aaron Heilman, another of those up and down Mets relievers. But Aaron was up to the task last night, blowing a couple of fast balls by the big slugger, followed by another that had a little too much of the plate and Werth drove it a long way once again.But this time, you could see that centerfielder Carlos Beltran had a bead on it, and the Phils threat was suddenly over. Perhaps motivated by their near demise in the top of the eighth, the Mets struck gold in the bottom half.
Robinson Cancel, who is becoming a bigger cog in the Mets wheel, singled and moved to second on Reyes’s bunt. After Phils reliever J.C. Romero snagged a broken-bat liner off the bat of Endy Chavez for the second out, he intentionally walked David Wright to load the bases for Carlos Delgado.So there it was, lefty on lefty, with the game on the line. Carlos, who hadn’t had much luck against Romero in the past, nevertheless hung tough and managed to drive an outside pitcher’s pitch to the opposite field, scoring Cancel and Wright to spot the Mets to a 2-run lead. The Mets intrepid cleanup hitter had done it again.
And, just as he did in Game 2, Billy Wagner came on in the 9th to get two fly balls from Victorino and Feliz, and, after allowing a base hit, retired 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins on a hard ground ball. The Mets would end the day in first place in the National League East and solidify their lead in their head to head contests with the Phillies.It must be pointed out, though, that while Wagner was ultimately able to close out both Games 2 and 3 for the Mets, nobody knew that on Wednesday morning. If I had known the Mets would have Wagner available for the rest of the Series, my outlook wouldn’t have been nearly so miserable.
To his credit, Jerry Manuel was gracious after the game, and did not harp on the fact that Mets fans were upset, or that every beat writer with a pen and a keyboard had been prophesying his team’s doom.He singled Oliver Perez out for his fine 12 K performance and talked about Delgado, not just for his prowess with the bat, but also for his leadership in the clubhouse. Jerry was pleased that Carlos’s staggering success at the plate would only enhance his standing as a leader in the clubhouse.
Could that be the key to Delgado’s surge at the plate for Manuel, an acknowledgement of Delgado’s importance as a leader? Is it possible that Willie didn’t appreciate his efforts, or wasn’t able to express his regard in the same way? I guess we’ll never know unless some cable station does a reality show on an out-of-work baseball manager.It’s not that important now, of course. For whatever reason, the Mets are doing much better than they had under Willie. Whatever peccadilloes Willie had are irrelevant now. The Mets can look forward to a brighter future, with better hitting for sure and more timely pitching as well.
And, looking forward, the immediate future looks hard. The Cardinals come to Shea with a better record than the Mets, followed by a series with the surprising Florida Marlins, who have been hovering around the top spot in the division all season long.The biggest question now is whether the Mets should pick up an outfielder. Once again, Ryan Church is hurt and may be unavailable for some time. Moises Alou is unavailable. The Mets have been doing well by surrounding Beltran in left and right with Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez and a kid named Nick Evans. But will they do as well in September and October as they are now?
While I think the Mets could stay pat and survive, it’s probably not the optimal solution. I’d like to see them pick up Xavier Nady. Xavier used to be the Mets rightfielder before he was unceremoniously traded away. After the Mets lost Duaner Sanchez to injury in 2006, they picked up Roberto Hernandez from the Pirates and last night’s hero, Oliver Perez.
While Nady was once thought to be just a part-time player, Nady’s hitting .330 this year with runs and rbi numbers in the 50’s for the lowly Pirates. I’d love to see him back again. He was never a great fielder, but he’s one of those guys you feel comfortable with at the plate. He’d look good in blue.I understand the Pirates are asking the world for him now. Maybe they’d like Oliver Perez back in the black and gold. That won’t happen.
But if the Mets can’t make a trade, I think they’ll be ok. With or without another outfielder, they’re too tough to just fold under pressure.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Overthinking the Easy Ones
How many times have we seen it before, with other teams, with other middle-relief guys who try on the closer's hat? They don't have a prayer. So it was with the Mets last night as they wasted a fine performance by Johan Santana and a 3-run lead to lose the opener of their three-game set with the Phils, 8-6.
What I don't understand is why Santana came out of the game at all. He was doing quite well, thank you. I can understand saving your starter when you have your closer in the bullpen, but when you don't, bite the bullet and have your starter try to finish the game, especially if it's one of the biggest games of the year.
But Jerry Manuel didn't do that. He decided to see what he had in his pen. He found out. He thought Duaner Sanchez could be a closer. Wrong! After three straight hits off Duaner, he went to Joe Smith, who did manage to induce a harmless ground ball that Reyes flubbed.
Why he took Smith out is another mystery because his replacement, Pedro Feliciano, did worse. In fact, nothing Manuel did last night worked out in any way, shape or form. Except for starting Santana, it was all down hill from there.
The handwriting was all over the wall, even before that sad ninth inning. They sent Endy Chavez home twice to get thrown out, one time with nobody out. It just didn't make sense. It seemed as if they were tempting fate, asking themselves "what can we do to turn a ridiculously easy victory into a damaging and embarrassing loss?"
Once again I’m left to contemplate what a strange game is baseball. A team that seemingly had everything going for it entering a series, a team that pretty much had its way with the Phils for eight full innings, loses it in the ninth in spectacularly horrid fashion, thus losing not only THIS game but also any momentum it had going in.
Okay, I’m done now. Coulda shoulda woulda. So Jerry Manuel blew a game. He’s won way more than he’s lost, and maybe he had this one coming. Who knows what Santana said to him after his eight innings on another hot, humid night at Shea? Who knows why he took out Smith, the only guy in that ninth inning who did anything right?Last night Manuel lost much of the faith I had in him. The biggest game of the year was in the bag. He gave it back. Santana had thrown 105 pitches. He felt fine. Wagner was hurt. Sanchez had pitched two big innings on Sunday. I don’t understand what he was thinking. No thinking was required.
I can’t even discuss it anymore. A team as stupid as this one doesn’t deserve to win anything. Manuel thinks wins are cheap. He’s never heard the old saw “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.So the game that was in hand is now lost. Now the Mets face the Phils with lesser starters, less confidence and still no closer. The Phillies now have the edge in this all-important series. The Phillies delivered the big hits. The Phillies made the plays in the field. The Phillies have everything but the manager who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
There must have been an old Willie handbook in the dugout, that one entitled “How to Lose Games with the Better Team”.How many games can a team give back over the course of a season and still win? This team has given back about 20 games on the season. And counting.
Can they turn it around? Yeah, sure they can. With Delgado scorching the horsehide off the ball, and with horses like Beltran and Wright in the lineup, anything is possible. They have the best starters in the league. But it’s less likely for sure. It’ll take a little time to get over such a bad loss.That Reyes reverted to making the big mistake doesn’t bode well either. His decision to reach for the second base bag when a flip to Easley would have done nicely kept the rally going strong. Instead of being up two with two men on and one man out, it became bases loaded once again with nobody out.
Although I understand the switch to Smith when Sanchez wasn’t doing the job, I don’t comprehend at all the switch to Feliciano. Smith had done his job. He got a ground ball when he needed it. Why switch to Feliciano? And then Heilman once the game was irretrievably lost.But it was really all over much earlier. That would be when Santana came out of the game, much to the Phillies delight. The guy who had frustrated those heavy-hitters all night long would be on the bench. Wagner wasn’t a possibility. The Phillies licked their lips in anticipation. They could win this game after all. And did.
Of course there is a flip-side to all this. All Manuel really did was put the game in the hands of his relievers. It didn’t work out, but many would say he made the right move, all those pitch-count people, all those folks with fresh pitchers at the end of the season, for teams that will have lost way more than they will have won.I’m already regretting all the nasty things I’ve said. Manuel hasn’t made many mistakes since he’s assumed the reins from the dead team he took over from Willie, a team with tired veterans, with a shortstop always looking over his shoulder, and with cleanup hitters gone bad.
So we Mets fans have to be patient with a mistake, even if it did come at the worst possible moment, against the worst possible opponent. For once, Manuel overthought the situation, and was caught counting chickens down the road, saving his ace for some game in October.He just forgot that you first have to get to October.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Credit Where Credit Ain't Due
Well, the Mets lost another big one last night, big because all their games are big given their situation, but also big because their biggest stars both failed in the clutch.
David Wright misplayed a ground ball that would have been the third out in the second inning, giving the heretofore hard-luck Mariners another opportunity with the bases loaded. And they capitalized big-time as their pitcher yanked a high and outside Santana fastball over the fence.
The early returns from Mets fan-dom seem to indicate a distinct finger-pointing at Santana, multi-million dollar baby Johan Santana, who, after all, fell to just 7-6, but he still retains a very respectable 2.93 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.
Well, it’s always fun to knock the millionaires but the object of fan wrath last night should have been with Wright, who isn’t exactly on his way to the poor house himself. Wright made the big error, then another error in the 8th, and was pretty unremarkable at the plate too.
Wright’s not doing all that badly overall, what with 56 rbi’s, but he’s batting just .272 and has been remarkably bad versus right-handed pitching, batting just .222 while banging left-handers at a .435 clip. He’s scored only 44 runs but that’s more a function of the under-performers following him in the lineup.
But really, Wright was bad last night. Santana was not. His biggest mistake was to say after the game something to the effect that the Mets have to do the job in the field. Now, that may have played well in
There should be a stat kept on multi-millionaires who say dumb things, or inappropriate things anyway. Wright obviously screwed up, and I can say so, but Johan, you have to suck it up and take the heat. It’s not as if you were blameless.
Yeah, sure, it was a good pitch that got hit out, but c’mon Johan, it was the darned pitcher. In that situation, you just can’t serve up anything that could be yanked out like that. Against anybody, never mind the pitcher. You’ve got a change-up, it seems to me that ANYTHING that had a little movement to it would have been a better choice in that situation. And you could have been a little more gracious after the game.
That being said, the locals looked extraordinarily lifeless last night. I had been hoping for a better performance upon returning to Shea. Too much partying upon returning home? The Mets banged out a paltry four hits on the night, and worse, those four hits were attributable to just two players, Reyes and Beltran. Oh yeah, Castillo did work a base on balls and later scored.
All the rest, fuhgeddaboudit. Wright, Delgado, Nixon, Easley, Castro and Chavez produced nothing. Hernandez is a great pitcher but he only pitched into the fifth inning after sustaining an injury while blocking the plate against Beltran, who charged home on a wild pitch. And kudos to Beltran for making some better use of those quick feet lately.
But the Mets made each of the Mariners relief pitchers look like the second coming of Mariano Rivera. They managed three walks and two hits off the four relievers while managing to strike out six times.
Jerry Manuel’s calming influence may have been felt last night, but if so, maybe that wasn’t quite what was needed in that spot. After all, the Mariners were in desperate straits, having just fired their manager, McLaren after putting up just 27 wins coming into the end of June. You had to figure they’d be dangerous.
And, come to think of it, the Mets do seem to play to the level of their competition. They do well against the Angels but lose four to the last place Padres. And now losing to the Mariners, and looking even worse than the result.
To Manuel’s credit, he is responsible for the renewed running effort from Beltran, and he will apparently continue his resting of key players, and, as one could have expected, Wright will be rested tonight. (A little better timing would have been good).
For now, though, the Mets have to put a better face on their losses, and try to pull for one another, take the hit from the press, shoulder the blame, and give your teammate a pass when you have the chance. Hopefully, there won’t be many more opportunities like that.
Although nobody in the NL East seems to be playing that well lately, it’s high time for the Mets to turn things around, if they have it in them at all. It’s not as if there aren’t some encouraging signs.
Pedro is back, and though his comeback has been nothing to write home about, he hasn’t been too bad. Pelfrey has been looking good,
Even more encouraging, Ryan Church should be returning soon, and, although he didn’t do much last night, Trot Nixon has provided a bit of a boost, albeit if only against right-handers. And last night’s right-hander WAS pretty darned tough.
But, no matter how this season turns out, it’d sure be nice to think these Mets at least like one another and are worthy of whatever accolades they may get. You don’t see the Yankees berating one another, at least not publicly, unless of course, it’s coming from the crazy owner.
I’d like to see the press give the Mets a break, but I don’t see that as a real possibility. It’s too fascinating a story, approaching reality shows for intrigue and extreme pathos. Willie, Pedro, Johan, two Carlos’s, and Jose Reyes, boy wonder. And now, of course, we have our own Gandhi in the person of Jerry Manuel.
So c’mon Johan, that was one hell of a try Wright gave on that ground ball !
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Go Get 'Em Hank !!
I say kudos to Hank Steinbrenner for his blustery attack on the Yankees decision to keep Joba Chamberlain in a relief role. He sees his franchise going down the tubes this year, he knows who is leading his bunch of planning miscreants, and he doesn't like it. Not one little bit.
Even as a devout Yankee-hater, I cringe at the ridiculous mistakes made by Brian Cashman over the years. So it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that the voluble Hank should go after him. How could he not? Cashman passed on Johan Santana this year as part of his plan to develop his young pitchers.
For the sake of a plan, Cashman chose to go forward with a starting rotation of two old guys, two new guys and just one relatively no-risk starter. But Cashman's errors are legion, starting with ignoring erstwhile Boss George to select Nick Johnson over Big Papi himself, perennial MVP-candidate David Ortiz.
I look forward to quite a few more attacks on the smug Cashman from Hank's direction. And I love his tone. Especially the "idiot" part. That word surely fits the bill. I mean....Carl Pavano, Kyle Farnsworth, Kei Igawa, LaTroy Hawkins, and going back some, Kevin Brown, Jay Witasik, Javier Vasquez, Jaret Wright, Steve Karsay...
And how about others he passed on....Curt Schilling, Hideki Okajima, Bernie Williams. How about trading Mike Lowell to the Marlins for three pitching prospects (in Brian's muddled mind) named Ed Yarnall, Todd Noel and Mark Johnson. Real household names are those three!
Without going into the tell-tale statistics, let's just review the current situation. The Yanks are 10-10. The Red Sox are 14-7. Kennedy and Hughes haven't panned out yet, and not only that, but they show not a hint of ever coming out of their funk. Mussina has been dreadful. Pettite has been very good, but how long can that continue?
All the Cashman apologists will point to the success of Joba in his setup role for Mariano Rivera. (Keeping Mariano is one of Cashman's good moves, to be fair). When the Yanks have held a lead going into the eighth inning, nobody can hold a candle to finishing up with Joba and Mariano. And you'll hear the yada yada yada as to how and why Joba will get injured in a transition.
But how many leads will they take into the eighth? Doesn't a contending team need at least three legitimate starters? Shouldn't there just be one day out of every five that the whole team will give up because they're down by seven? Not three out of five days, that's too much. Even for the Yanks lineup.
Let's look at the alternatives. For starting pitching, there are no good alternatives. In the relief area, there is one good one, at least at the current time. Brian Bruney has been impressive, showing every indication that he can handle that setup role.
Let's look at motivation. Joba wants to start. Just the fact that he wants to start would go a long way towards ensuring that he wouldn't injure himself on the way to stepping into his dream job. How hard is it anyway, this transition? Put Joba in a long relief role, a couple of innings, then three or four, then he's a five inning starter, then the sky's the limit. In a few weeks, he'd be a starter, and you wouldn't lose his services along the way.
Imagine Wang, Pettite, Chamberlain, Mussina, rookie. Four out of every five starts will be competitive, three out of five could be dominating starts. Good pitching four out of five days would go a long way towards motivating that Yankees batting juggernaut too.
Yes, the move makes sense. From a baseball and business standpoint. That the best pitcher in baseball went to the Mets doesn’t make things any easier for Cashman. That ticket prices will be going up in the new stadium doesn’t help his position either. What’s the first question you ask when thinking about attending a game? Who’s pitching? Kennedy? Um, I’ll pass. Santana? Sure, when do you want to leave?
<>And I think it’s quite possible that his master plan for developing young pitchers is founded on his rock-solid history of selecting bad ones. I also think Cashman had better start communicating with Hank, at least a little bit. It sounds as if he’s talking to George and Randy Levine a lot, but not with Hank. Big mistake, worse even than all his pitching snafu’s combined, if that’s even remotely possible.The enormity of Cashman’s huge failures in the pitching department would be hard to exaggerate. Carl Pavano’s 4-year 40 million dollar contract would have to top the list as he went 4-6 in 2005, 1-0 in 2006, and then never pitched again. Kevin Brown comes close though. The Yanks picked up the remainder of Brown’s record 7-year 105 million dollar contract in 2004 and Brown went 10-6, then 4-7 in 2005.
<>Randy Johnson at 41 years of age was picked up for a mere $57 million for just two years, including the cost of dropping his no-trade clause. Jeff Weaver, another costly acquisition, though, did lose a Game 4 2003 World Series game to a walk-off home run by a light-hitting Alex Gonzalez. How about paying Clemens all that money last year on a start by start basis only to have him pitch badly and then be named in the Mitchell report?More recently, of course, Kei Igawa signed for a relatively meager 5-year $20 million. He won a couple of games, lost a few more, and you just don’t hear too much about him anymore.
<>So.. is Hank allowed to question Cashman’s genius? It’s been suggested that Hank’s just a clone of his father, that because he inherited his Dad’s money, he should just shut up. I don’t think so.I think he’s showing a bit of his Dad’s good instincts, as when his Dad suggested the Yanks acquire a guy named David Ortiz.
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