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The Mets lost to the Cubs by the score of 7 to 1 in Wrigley Field tonight.
For a recap and boxscore, go to SNY.tv.
…a John Maine fastball tailed back over the plate and was ripped over the wall in center by Aramis Ramirez to give the Cubs an early two-run lead…otherwise, maine looked pretty good, despite not having his best stuff…the problem was that Carlos Zambrano was just better, keeping the Mets silent through much of the game…
…the Mets picked up a run in the sixth, thanks mostly to ramirez, who forgot to tag Endy Chavez sliding in to third, while thinking it was a force play…however, with zambrano a bit on the rocks, and looking a bit out of gas, Jose Reyes hit in to a double play and Carlos Beltran popped out stranding two runners…
…for what it’s worth, Oh, Casanova made a nice throw off a weak bunt to nail soto to end the first inning…does Reebok really make his chest protector, or is that an advertisement…weird…
…speaking of ads, either this is new, or i just had not noticed it before, but it’s strange to see ads sold by SNY displayed on the green screen behind home plate at Wrigley Field…not that there is anything wrong with it, it’s just strange to see ads for Mets tickets on that classic brick wall…
…and speaking of ads, why do i care what Giuseppe Franco has to say…usually, i just skip through his ad…or, not his ad, because he doesn’t own the company, apparently, you know what i mean…anyway, i finally watched this commercial, and i am very, very confused…and how does Gary Busey help sell any product…so bizarre…
…in the eighth, thanks partly to a misplayed ground ball by reyes, Aaron Heilman let the bases become loaded – at which point i was hoping he would be removed from the game…to his credit, heilman got two outs and was one strike away from being done with the inning, but he let up a two-run single, which broke the game open…Willie Randolph then pulled heilman in favor of Jorge Sosa, who let up a home run to put the game out of reach…i don’t understand why he pulls heilman then, but not earlier…or why use him at all, when he’s clearly in a slump…
…i know some will rip willie’s use of the bullpen, which is fair…though, i hope those same people also take note of the pitcher’s lack of execution…that said, i just don’t know what to make of this, or any bullpen…they all confuse me…honestly, i just don’t think i am smart enough to figure it out…i often think willie should do one thing and it works, other times i think he should do something else, and it doesn’t work…there is just no rhyme or reason to any of it…i some times think he’d be better off flipping a coin when choosing who should pitch when…it’s mind boggling to me…my lack of criticism in this department is strictly based in confusion…which is not to say you are wrong, or willie is right…you could be right, and he could be wrong…my point is, i’m clearly wrong and i have no idea why…
…rough loss, mostly because i blinked and the game was out of control…it just all fell apart so quickly…
…lastly, how long have Cubs fans been singing that song after a win…is this new, or have i been living in a cave…
The Mets will face the Cubs tomorrow at 2 pm in Chicago.
no they’ve been singing that song for awhile now. it was being played last year when i was in chicago for that three game series and fans told me it’s been around since about 2000.
Matt: Ramirez had no chance on that tag, Endy was clearly safe – the replay clearly shows that Endy was popping up already when the ball got there….and what a gun by Casanova throwing out Johnson…a guy with great speed and he was out by a mile…tough error by Reyes, but hey it happens. Who can explain to me what Jorge Sosa is doing pitching in the bottom of the eighth inning with 2 runners on in a close game? I guess everyone else was tired/unavailable…oh well, let’s get it back tomorrow, Zambrano is a tough cookie…
I can’t believe that Heilman gave a number 8 hitter a pitch to hit when the count’s 1-2. Jeepers creepers, he put it on a platter for him. Can’t Casanova or Heilman figure out to throw something up high or in the dirt with that count? I turned the game off before the ball hit the ground, mumbling to myself for the rest of the night, “a fat pitch on a 1-2 count to the number 8 guy, a fat pitch on a 1-2 count tot he number 8 guy,…”
And I agree, no chance for Ramirez on that play. He knew it and so quickly tried to see if he had a play at first. The catcher’s fault all the way.
That pitch from Heilman was meant to be up out of the zone. He missed.
Matt: So you know, the reason for the SNY ads at Wrigley was because the game was on ESPN and when they televise game they use a green screen feature over the ads which enables them to promote their programming. It also enabled SNY to promote the Mets on a local level.
lol I can’t believe Matt dogged out Giusseppe Franco in his post….
Speaking of Giusseppe Franco if I was a client of his I would asking why do you charge $400 dollars for something that is $20 from the manufacturer.
stats don’t lie:
with castillo in the 2 hole: 2-8
with church or pagan: 8-0
and those 2 wins were in the first three games
Who needs stats when we have Willie the Gut!
HEAR HEAR!!!!! What the heck is Willie doing putting Castillo back in the 2 hole in the lineup??? Is it because these two games were on ESPN and Castillo wants the face time? Come on!!! Church even batted second in the Saturday game against Jamie Moyer, a left-hander, and they won. But the second the team is on national tv, Willie gets cold feet, feels his gut, and puts Castillo back in the two hole. I thought he was into playing the hot hand?
The game on Saturday was aired nationally on FOX.
It wasn’t on here(GA).
Um Castillo actually had a great game. 2 hits and a SB in a good spot with Wright up. Why don’t you look up Wright’s stats in Mets losses – I’ll bet you’ll see that he doesn’t hit well in them – but it doesn’t mean that Wright should be set down…Point is, I’m a big proponent of putting Castillo in the 8 hole, but Wright and Beltran had 0 execution today on offense and u can’t blame Castillo for this one….Beltran is like 1-16 or something, how come no one is crying about him??
i’m crying :’-(
seriously…no execution on offense at all…zambrano was really good…but we really need to pick up the hitting, especially beltran and delgado…wright reyes and church have been carrying the load…
Church will be in the two hole against left handed pitchers, to break up the lefties. The stretch were we won 5 games were all started by lefties. Whats are record against righties vs lefties? Beltran is not hitting from the left side and the team as a whole has struggled against righties, I think there hitting as a team over .300 against lefties but in the .200’s against righties. The lineup has nothing to do with that. Beltran needs to get out of the funk he’s in from the left side and start producing.
I thought they phoned it in.
Casanova is the worse non-pitcher in the NL. Hurry back Ramon Castro.
“I thought they phoned it in.”
They did not phone it in. They just do not have a deep enough lineup. A lineup that can be exposed.
Just out of curiosity, but how does a team phone it in against Carlos Zambrano?
Could it be that Zambrano is a really good pitcher.
I swear I have heard people say good things about him in baseball before, but maybe I could be wrong.
Thank you Matt
whether or not they phoned it in, the mets had five god-awful hitters in the order tonight. it’s the same lineup that only briefly touched the masterful adam eaton yesterday.
pagan really did not get cold enough to justify this silly benching.
What are you crashing on the little guys for? Wright, Beltran, Delgado: 1-10, 1BB, 5LOB. Start your complaining with the heart of the order. Zambrano just shut it down tonight – give him his credit, stop crying, and get ready to beat up Lilly tomorrow!
I don’t think they phoned it in, they kept it close until the 8th, and then the bullpen melted down. Sometimes you just have to give the starting pitcher credit, especially when the guy is an ACE like Zambrano.
also, right now paul casanova has a better OPS than delgado and castillo
Why is Willie so stubborn? How much longer will we have to deal with Castillo in the 2-hole?
I also agree with you Matt about leaving Heilman in. Either you pull him earlier or let him finish the inning. Just makes me scratch my head so often. Worst tactical manager in the NL.
Yeah, I really don’t understand why he put Castillo back in the 2 hole when we were undefeated with Church hitting second. I hear what everybody is saying about the lineup not being deep enough and you need to protect the black hole that is Carlos Delgado, but at least wait until we lose a game….or Castillo starts hitting from the 8 hole.
The only reason I can think of is Willie is trying to get Delgado and Beltran more fastballs by batting Church behind him. Church being in the 2 hole Ido not feel is the reason we five in a row. The reason was Wright and Reyes were smoking the ball. Heck Wright went 8 for 11 against Philly this weekend. That is grade school like production. The Mets offense will go as far as David and Jose take them and to some extent Beltran. Only problem is Beltran is getting nothing to hit because Delgado is behind him.
Do you really want Church up there taking pitches to allow Reyes to steal or do you want him up swinging? Castillo is a great 2 hole hitter because he works the count and can take a couple strikes to allow Reyes to steal second. Then all castillo has to do is slap the ball in the hole and Reyes scores. Plus Castillo still has speed and is not going to hit into the double plays that Church would. If reyes gets on I know Wright is coming up with someone on base whether it be reyes on second or reyes/castillo in first how can both still steal second. Church doesn’t have the speed Castillo has and won’t steal bags to get into scoring position.
Get Church back in the #2 hole. Catillo belongs in the #8 hole.
When Alou comes back, bat him 5th, drop Delgado to 6th.
I sure hope Delgado’s not finished…
So far, this team has no power and is not to be feared. Ten HR’s… Almost last in the league? DW can’t do it every night. Beltran has to step it up…
The bullpen — Heilman too inconsistent — how soon until Sanchez becomes the 8th inning guy?
Let’s get ‘em tomorrow!
Its too early in the season to make a big deal about the 2 hole. They’ve already dropped Castillo once and I’m sure they’ll do it again if needs be. However, considering Castillos deal AND his lifetime performance as a 2 hitter I don’t think its fair to banish him to the 8 hole yet. Hes never had pop, yet has always been great in the 2, including his audition with us last year. Simply put its a non issue and things will play out just fine wherever he hits. All of you Mets “fans” crying that Castillo is the weak link in the team, implying that we’ll be undefeated with someone else in the 2- well, thats just plain stupid. There are really only 2, yes just 2 glaring weaknesses on this team and their names are Delgado and Heilman. Delgado may or may not be done completely-only time will tell. What is clear is that he is no longer feared. He no longer protects Beltran or sets up Church. Alou’s return helps in a big way, but then where does Delgado hit, 7th? And when Alou goes down again, then what? This lineup is 1 bat short. Doesn’t have to be a great bat, could be a X Nady, Melvin Mora, etc. type bat. Anyone who isn’t an AUTOMATIC OUT. But Delgado is not even the big issue. Aaron Heilman is. This guy is done, done, done, done, done. His holds against inferior teams makes his numbers look good and there was a time when he actually could be dominant, this guy has been awful in close games against good teams for well over a year now and most fans seem to think hes going to bounce back. See if you can follow this; team execs think Heilman can’t start because he’s the kind of pitcher who gets knocked around the more often a batter sees him. Guess what? In his first half season as set up guy he was brillaint. The next year he was mostly good except his tendency to give up costly home runs. This year he has been the 07 version of Guillermo Mota. Think good hitters are locked in with this guy yet? Now the real question is why Willie and Omar don’t listen to their own logic. Its painfully obvious that the phillies, braves, and most of the rest of the league have seen him plenty well enough to smack him around yet instead of trading him while he has some value they continue to run him in the eighth inning in close games, games that we lose. Whats the difference btween a hitter seeing him 3 times a game a few times a year or once a game in nearly every game they play for several years in a row. It just doesn’t make sense- in their own words Omar and Willie have repeatedly said he won’t fool hitters once they see him enough and now that they’ve all seen him enough Omar and Willie act like its an aberration that he’s getting lit up. Hes cheap, young, and has had some sucess, trade him now, Omar was briiliant in recognizing Jae Seos lack of real value vs. the stats on the back of his baseball card. He stole Duaner Sanchez for a player he knew would not continue to produce at the level he had been. We need to do the same with Heilman. Your 5 hitter and your set-up guy can’t be weaknesses on a championship team. Please trade Heilman ASAP.
Hear hear. I see a lot of bashing Castillo and Willie- some of it deserved- but Hell-man is the achilles heel of this bullpen (and team for that matter). He’s not made for a big market team. I cant agree more w/ the relative value he has given his age and “potential”……trade trade trade him for a bench OF or pitching prospects. Some team out there will be desperate enough. The guy is a goat.
Felciano/Sosa- middle
Filthy/Smith- setup
Wags
No hell-man in that equation……
What did Church do wrong in the 2-hole?
…his name isn’t Castillo.
church did nothing wrong..willie is putting some protection behind delgado while he is giving chavez some at bats..if schneider comes back and church is still in the bottom of the order then u have a beef
Yes.
Putting Castillo in the 8 hole would mean a bottom three of Casanova, Castillo and the pitcher. Just give the opposing pitcher every third inning off.
Delgado doesn’t need protection. He couldn’t hit if Babe Ruth was behind him.
1. Reyes
2. Church
3. Wright
4. Beltran
5. Delgado
6. Endy/Pagan
7. Pitcher
8. Casanova
9. Castillo
Of course I’m kidding with 7-9, but really its a toss up because they are all horrible.
Why do people keep claiming Delgado needs protection. He’s slugging less than 300, I believe, if teams are pitching away from him let them. It’s the only way he’ll get on base. If anyone needs protection it’s Beltran because no one’s pitching to him knowing Delgado is an easy DP behind him.
Nothing. The reasoning is that without Schneider, they are left weak in the lower half so putting Cuurch there supposedly solves that problem.
If Schneider comes back and Castillo still hits 2nd, Willie should be locked in a closet.
I will never understand how someone can think that it strengthens a lineup to put a good hitter (Church) amidst totally ineffective hitters so as to minimize the effects of Church’s production (no one in front of him; no one to drive him in) just so that the bottom of the order isn’t as weak. Sacrificing strength at the top of the order for a cosmetic advantage at the bottom of the order is absurd on its face. The bottom of the order is weak. We must live with it.
Also, to those who say Castillo was effective today: it is true; he drew a walk, stole a base and reached base on an infield hit. Please keep in mind that this is Castillo on his very best day. Do you want your bridge from Reyes to Wright to not be able to put up more than three total bases in one game?
Chavez had a good game too. Let’s give him 4 years for 6 M per to be our starting LF!
(Seriously, Endy Chavez is a better hitter, better bunter, and faster than Castillo–although Castillo has the better batting eye. The fact that everything being said about Castillo could be said about Endy Chavez might show how there is really not much of a case to be made for Castillo.
Let’s see, what did he do wrong?
Huh… what did he do wrong?
Uh, I’ll say… he hit well!
No wait, that can’t be what he did wrong. Being productive in the number two slot is good!
So what did he do wrong? Hmm… I wonder.
Heilman did a good job? Does he watch the same game that we watch? Man, I wish my gut was this delusional.
Sorry, Endy, you played good today, but if you have to sit on the bench in order for Castillo to bat 8th, so be it.
Get Church batting 2nd and Pagan back in left.
It’s getting harder and harder to defend Heilman. I still won’t boo a NY Met, but with the exception of a couple of nice outings, he’s been dreadful. I’m having flashbacks of Doug Sisk!
It’s really rough to play an ESPN east coast midnight-ending game and start a game in Chicago at 6pm their time. Especially vs. Zambrano. The guys looked tired. Castillo in the two-hole made me exhausted. No—perplexed.
It’s also really rough to endure three hours of Wrigley love. It’s an old tourist StubHub pissoir that houses an over-romanticized team in the most segregated city I’ve ever set foot in—and that includes Prague. It’s an affront to Mets oldtimers like me who remember that the Cubs were our biggest rival for many years—often for the basement.
Where’s a black cat when you need one?
9th wags
8th heilman
7th sanchez, feliciano
6th sosa, smith, schoeneweis
that’s the personnel. at times they’ll pitch different inning b/c of rest issues. that’s it. i like the core. they’re at the top of the nl in era and opponent avg. it’s much, much better than last year.
it would be nice if the starters went deeper into the game. i’m hoping the pen receives some support from the shea crowd when they return…they need the support especially heilman. w/o an effective heilman this team isn’t winning the division.
I just hope by the all-star break its:
9th: Wags
8th: Sanchez
7th: Heilman/Feliciano
6th: Smith/Sosa/Schoe
sounds good. we’ll still need heilman though.
w/o heilman we have a hell of a lot fewer late inning runs allowed. How is he even in the picture anymore? He’s proven his ineffectiveness enough already……………..
On a side not: Utley homers again, holy crap, is this guy even human.
Whoops meant side “note”
I will be more impressed if he continues hitting this way when he begins to play in ballparks that are not ridiculous hitters ballparks like CBP and Mile High.
Hell, play Reyes in CBP and hit hits 25.
I would still take Utley on my team over Castillo any day of the week. Actually can Teufel still swing a bat?
“I will be more impressed if he continues hitting this way when he begins to play…”
I meant to say when “he plays again in…”
True but no matter what ballpark hitting 6 homers in 5 games is pretty impressive.
“Where’s a black cat when you need one?”
He walked in front of Delgado’s locker.
It is very bad to drink Joe Boo’s rum….very bad!
You think Maz will be right and they put Easley in at first, Pagan in left, and Clark in right tomorrow?
Reyes
Pagan
Wright
Beltran
Easley
Clark
Cassanova/Schneider
Castillo
not his ad, because he doesn’t own the company
well, that was the only good thing to happen to me tonight.
did anyone else get up when heilman had two outs and the bases loaded and come back in, like, two minutes to find 5 new runs? so depressing
i really thought heilman was gonna get through it. i’m actually not mad at all about the bullpen management tonight, i feel like heilman did an okay job, he just didn’t get a good result. and by the time sosa got taken deep the game was lost anyway.
i am however still fuming about this terrible terrible lineup we’ve seen the past two nights.
some thoughts
1) Heilman should no way, no how been in this game, unless it was an emergency hold situation. He has pitched a bunch of days lately, and a lot of pitches in Philly. Should have gotten the day off.
2) Maine should have pitched the 7th, meaning Sanchez the 8th, and Heilmann and Sosa get a rest.
Of course, they still would have lost 2-1, but now the pen is even more fried.
3) Castillo is now, by far, my least favorite Met. Don’t like him as a player, and the 4 year deal forces me to root for a blown ACL to get rid of him (and I am not really that mean!)
4) Delgado has now become Cerano McSIngleton (or Slappy the 2nd if you prefer). Instead of the edge of the OF, he can hit the middle of the OF (sometimes), but doesn’t bunt as well.
5) Is there any other catcher besides Casanova to call up? Brian, come back, we miss you!
And finally, 6) I am glad I had to go out before the bottom of the 8th, and was actually not in the car to hear any of the runs!
I agree with everything except the Maine thing. He was up over 100 pitches, and he slowed down drastically last year after the All Star break due to fatigue. The less pitches he throws this early in the aseson, the better.
Yep – exactly right. Besides, he looked pretty tired finishing up the sixth…even though he got the strikeouts, he seemed pretty done…
to be fair, I wasn’t watching on TV at the time, so I couldn’t tell how he looked, just the results and pitch count.
More of a general rule issue I guess. If the pen is overworked, and the SP is OK, let him go over 100.
Hope you didnt mean that Castillo ACL comment. That shouldnt be wished upon anybody, especially someone that plays for your team.
haha stickguy with an encore performance of that same post from another thread.
I tweaked it.
Don’t want to spam, but I hate putting a post at the end of the pregame thread when everyone has moved on to the postgame! Never get all the constructive feedback that way…
No, that was tongue in cheek. Just making that point that we are stuck with him on the filed no matter how bad he does, unless he gets hurt.
How about, if he continues to be a shell of his former (not reallly good) self, he gets an Alou grade quad pull so he is out for 3 Months?
i could deal with that.
Stickguy what are you talking about? Castillo had a good game, I don’t understand all the Castillo bashing tonight….Casanova had a good game too, and 2 great defensive plays. Delgado is what really worries me (and everyone else), and Beltran too – I hate it when he gets into these 5 game slumps…
Well, I try not to base things on 1 game. It is just so limiting having a guy that can’t drive the ball at all, and he doesn’t do enough otherwise to make up for it.
Just gets frustrating to think how dynamic this offense could be if they just had even moderately competant hitters at 1B and 2B, that can actually hit the ball with some power.
I just realized why Omar gave Castillo 4 years…we’re signing Utley in 2012! Castillo is just a place holder! LOL
Listen, I know everything. Here’s what we need to do:
Move Church to the 2 spot
Call up Carp to start getting some time at first.
Stop bringing Heilman/Sosa in when it’s a close/important game.
Do these things, and we’re on our way to a 120 win season.
Church did nice in the 2 spot and he should still be there, but that certainly wont lead to 120 wins.
Carp is a minor leaguer right now, he is not the answer.
Yea, lets never bring in Heilman or Sosa into a close game. Let’s just pitch Duaner whos coming off arm injuries to pitch alot. And Schowenweis too. Or Wagner can just pitch every night.
Seriosuly, come on guys, take it easy. People gotta stop going nuts over one loss.
its not the loss that upsets me cause lets face it its zambrano, but rather the way we lost and the questionable moves by willie that costs us. I mean heilman is not reliable we all know this and after he teased us by almost making it out the inning, he put in sosa…..SOSA which by any rights is in the same league as heilman. Losses dont hurt nearly as much as knowing we could have had a chance at the end, granted against wood but still we would have been down by 1 run at worst 3 runs.
Yea, cuz Heilmans only pitched poorly in this one loss. “Carp isn’t the answer cuz he’s a minor leaguer”- I guess Wright, Reyes, Beltran, and every other player in the history of the Mets were BORN Major Leaguers. I think it even says so on their birth certificate. What an idiot this Mike Carp guy is. Thinking he can be a top prospect in the minor leagues, show tons of ability before and after a major injury and hope that he could replace a guy hitting .200 with no power who can’t defend, runs like a tortoise, and does it all for the bargain price of 16 million dollars a year. I mean, he’s in the minor leagues…Its not like the Red Sox won the world series with newly promoted minor leaguers starting at second and in center. If we don’t take action soon there could be quite a few of these minor leaguers floating around in the majors, replacing fading used up veterans and generally ruining the game for all. Heck we might even end up with a few of these gypsies on our own team! THE HORROR OF IT ALL!
Sarcasm, right?
Well first of all, I hope you didn’t take me too seriously. I think everything I said is a viable, if not necessary, action, but I don’t think it’ll bring this team anywhere near 120 wins.
Regarding Mike Carp, see the comment below by gomets, who I think sums up my stance perfectly.
Regarding Church, he did incredibly well in the 2 spot. It’s nice to have a guy that drives the ball into the gaps, because with Reyes’ speed that means an early run. Castillo doesn’t hit the ball into the outfield, nevermind the gaps. If we want to up run production (which we NEED to do, more than anything else) Church has to hit 2nd. There’s absolutely no reason he shouldn’t.
As for Heilman and Sosa, these guys are not getting it done. Sanchez is. Smith is. Even Feliciano is more reliable (the last Phillie game aside). I’d rather see these guys in a one-run game, surgery or not. I can’t count the number of times Heilman has put a game out of reach for us in the past two seasons.
These are all pretty obvious moves. I just wish somebody who can do something about it would take notice/action.
Jordan, et al:
Do we have any catching prospects beyond the new 18 y/o German? Since Castro appears to be dead, it is extremely frightening that any injury/rest day for Schneider means we get this guy.
P.S. I wonder if we can trade Heilman for Kendry Morales. I just really like Kendry Morales.
I am sick and tired of Willie’s political correctness, he needs to seriously start blasting and embarrassing some people ( D wright even thought that it would be a good idea when he spoke to metsblog), sometimes I really miss Bobby V., he would not put up with Delgado or Heilman, Willie needs a little less Joe Torre and a little more Pinella. Otherwise, I just feel like this team will be garbage again.
Art Howe anyone? Honestly, I’m sure Willie gives them sh*t after tough losses, but this is not one you can pinpoint on any one player. Zambrano pitched a good game, the offense was shut down, Maine pitched well, and Heilman was OK – may be Reyes’ error threw off his concentration….I question bringing Sosa in, but that’s a toss up decision with this bullpen… Just need to close the book and move on – we should beat Lilly tomorrow….
I hope you are right, but I have not seen any evidence of this
did you see the postgame?
Willie— I thought Heilman did a good job, he just couldn’t execute the last pitch
does not sound like giving them sh*t to me
You really think that bashing Heilman in the post game comments on TV by Wille is the right move here? Come on, he got 2 strike outs, went 1-2 on the last hitter before giving up that single – he just didn’t get the ball up enough on that pitch. If Reyes makes that play, it’s a very different inning, so you can’t put this all on Heilman. But then again…he did put 3 guys on base, so… My point is, whatever sh*t Willie will give his players, will come behind closed doors and not in the media – and that’s a smart thing to do…you don’t wanna kill a guy’s confidence, and bashing him to the masses will draw even more boos from fans at home…it’ll be a hole Heilman will never climb out of…we still need this guy, he needs to get his sh*t together…
i cant wait until sanchez gets better so he can reclaim the 8th hole because heilman is not cutting it. My gripe is with willie. When will willie understand heilman/sosa are not reliable in close ballgames when the heart of the order is up. Willie should have used heilman for the 7th(bottom of the order) and since i guess he is still “testing sanchez” put him in a position where in 06 he thrived before getting injured. Like they said in the espn broadcast reyes and wright cannot carry this whole team alone. Beltran/Delgado/Castillo are all in slumps, Church was doing sooo well in the 2 hole but im afraid being lower in the order and having no protection will cool him off. I hope alou can come back soon because we need another RBI bat soon.
Beltran is slumping. Delgado and Castillo are DONE!
lol just TRYING (very hard at times) to be optimistic.
To me willie is just being stubborn now. He see’s things such as changing the lineup as a sign of panic. I mean somethings not working, so you switch it up, you win 5 games in a row, then you switch back to the thing that wasn’t working in the first place. That doesn’t make sense.
I don’t care if he was providing protection for delgado. Thats stupid thinking IMO. The past two games we have scored in only 2 innings. Theres a reason, holes in the 2 hole, 5, and 7 (with casanova catching). Its hard to get anything going when you have automatic outs like that. At least when church was in the two hole you knew when the top of the lineup came around they were gonna do something, and they were. We were scoring early, getting good pitching, and then good bullpen work, thus leading to 5 wins.
I think one encouraging thing tonight is that duaner hit 93 a couple times with his fastball. He still can’t locate it as well as he prob wants at that speed, but thats to be expected after not pitching in so long. Its good to see though that his velocity is going up, even he said he thinks he’ll get even stronger as the season goes along. When he was healthy a couple years ago he was throwing 94-95 with consistancy. His breaking stuff is still nasty though.
yes stubborn i think is the best word for willie and has been for the last 3 years!!!!! He insists on leaving heilman (his go to guy) in high pressure situations and he continues to fail. He needs to put his stubbornness aside and do whats best for the team. Smith has been doing well against righties and has been reliable out of the pen. I say let sanchez take over the 8th, he looks like he got his stuff back and have smith to back him up. Let heilman/sosa/ take the 7th or reverse these two depending on where the other team is at in their lineup and use feliciano/show against LEFTIES only. Also until castillo warms up(if that ever happens) leave him at the bottom and put a guy like church who has been hot as of late in the 2hole to get him more at bats. Just little things like this and tweaks here and there can spark a change. Too bad willie cannot see this. Does constantly putting heilman/show/sosa in a tough situation and them failing every time helping them with their confidence?
people are ridiculous… we win 5 straight, and everythings fine and no one can beat us… we lose 2 games, and know were garbage? there will be winnning streaks and losing streaks during the season, deal with it.. thats why theres 160+ games.. the mets cant lose more than 1 game without being scrutinized as if were never going to win again.. geez
yeah, but…there are games which are lost from the get go
and there are games like the last two, which should have been won
if only games you were suppose to win were added in the rankings.. but they only count games you actually win.. dammit
I know what you mean, my comment came off wrong. I mean thats why they play the games ( Detroit Tigers).
I was just responding to the post above, certainly expecting any team to win 7 in a row is nuts, but these last two games were very win-able
in the philly game, a lot of mets swung at ball 4 and Castillo could not do the only thing he does well offensively(bunt)
and today, Willie is making a big mistake with this lineup and it has cost us, if it wasn’t for the lack of execution, we could have won this game
Not gonna win every close one. When you only score one run, theres not much else to say, even if the bullpen did blow a POSSIBLE opportunity to have a chance to win.
Personally, Id rather Heilman blow this kinda game then have a lead and blow it. People are blaming this game on Heilman, but we were losing, so we prob wouldnt of won anyway.
People just gotta stop flipping out over a 2 game losing streak.
Here’s the deal, almost no matter what happens, this prob wont change during the year:
Delgado will be the 1B…not Mike Carp
Luis Castillo (barring injury) will be the 2B, and will get more ABs in the 2 hole
Heilman will get opportunities in big spots.
Whether or not this works out, its the hand they were dealt, either they make it work or not
Castillo will be the 2nd baseman and sometimes 2 hitter but Delgado does not have to be our 1b (ask the Big Hurt how it works) and running Heilman out to the mound in the eigth is not dealing with the hand we were dealt-its getting a hand with nothing in it, having the chance to draw more cards, but declining to and sticking with your hand which had nothing in it to begin with for no reason whatsoever.
But why should this game of been won??? Just cause it was a close game doesnt mean they “should” have won it. Zambrano was spot on tonight and Marmol is a tough guy outta the bullpen. And Maine prob shoudlve given up more then 2 runs.
If anything, when AmRam hit the homer to put the Cubs up 2-0, I didnt like their chances of winning cause of Zambrano.
yea our 5th starter at Philly, who won the division last year and trying to prevent a sweep.
and a loss to 1 of the best pitchers in the league tonight- yea games we should have won. gimme a break.
you have no problems with the way the Mets have played these last two games?
ok, should is a strong word, on paper we should be at a disadvantage in both cases ( on the road, eaton and zambrano)
but the fact is that the games were very winnable and very poor decisions and play cost us games we could have won.
this distresses me, but I guess you are calm and collected.
enough with this 162 game season nonsense, don’t drink the kool-aid, if a team play like garbage I can address it as early as I like
Im with you as far as the certain decisions cost them. But fact of the matter is, not every close game will be won, and when its not, decisions will always be criticized. But I just dont see much to complain about tonight. So Heilman blew a game we were already losing? We scored one run, Zambrano looked pretty good. I just cant get wrapped up in we should have won this game stuff in a game we never even had a lead!
More complaints could come from Sunday night against the Philles (but again a game we never had a lead) with the Castillo bunt. But the Phillies still made a couple of nice fielding plays to end that game too.
People will complain, but to expect the Mets to win every “winnable” game is ludicrous. You can always evaluate after the fact, but when Willie is making the decision, there’s no sure bet most of the time. You win some, you lose some – but you certainly don’t win all…it’s more like a .590 win percentage will easily win you the division…have some patience people, it’s not like we’re 5-14…
“enough with this 162 game season nonsense, don’t drink the kool-aid, if a team play like garbage I can address it as early as I like”
You are not allowed to do that!
You have to say things like “It’s just one game!” and “Relax, it’s only April!” At least until May when you have to say “Relax, it’s only May!”
I’m glad at least some of the fans here realize that these games in April don’t count, and that you can’t win everyday so there’s no reason to try and put your best lineup out there all of the time.
Too many so-called fans only manage to rain on the parade of the real fans… The fans that know that one or two (or three) losses a week don’t matter, because they never come back to hurt you later.
It’s not like you can miss the playoffs by a single game, so just relax.
Here’s hoping Willie puts something together that will allow the Mets go out there and battle again tomorrow. I hope I don’t see so many negative remarks about our #2 hitter, because Luis Castillo has a very impressive resume. You guys who want to win all the time never accept that, and you would rather see a guy who is good right now take that spot away from him. Don’t you know that baseball has a rich history? You cannot expect to win everyday, and sometimes it’s just more fun to reward guys who were good in the past.
Maybe some day there will be special days where old players get to come back and play an exhibition game against each other. Until that time, we owe some of our veteran Mets a little bit of respect. If it means we don’t win a few games in a row, so be it. We will get into a groove again. We will play the Nationals some more this season. I’ve seen the schedule!
I for one am glad that we have an experienced player-manager here. People tend to forget that Willie is first and foremost a 53 year old baseball player, and because of that they fail to see that he is going to identify more with the other players on this team who are closer to his age. If guys like Church and Pagan want to keep trying to show him up by hitting and stuff, they will be disciplined.
Everyone just relax and enjoy the season. Don’t worry about the wins! We were in 1st place a whole bunch of days last year. Are you guys forgetting how much fun that was???
I could not have said it better myself (though I tried)
Dude, seriously, you need to grab a Xanny and get a good night’s sleep…
Nah, I’ll just go to sleep on my own in a few minutes.
Felt like ranting. Now I can move on.
You know, I do want to ask you: who exactly did you have a problem with in our line up tonight? Castillo (1-3, BB, SB) or Chavez (1-3, 2B, R)? It was the middle of the lineup that was the problem today that went 1-10, BB, 5 LOB…I love these so-called fans who just come out to stir up none-sense panic over a loss in which a tired team was dominated by one of the top 5 pitchers in the game…get a clue…
Yeah, I’m a so-called fan. I should have my own bedroom at Shea during the season as often as I’m there. And I never boo my own team. I think I qualify as a real fan.
You wanna disagree with me, go ahead. Don’t question whether or not a total stranger to you is a real fan.
There’s no right or wrong in any of this. It’s just people expressing their opinions.
“Too many so-called fans only manage to rain on the parade of the real fans… The fans that know that one or two (or three) losses a week don’t matter, because they never come back to hurt you later.”
Were those words not said in mockery of my post? Sure came off as such. You want to express your opinion, go ahead, but if you try to mock me, I will put you back in your place, Met fan and all…
Actually didn’t even see your post. I was responding to someone else earlier in the thread. I’m not mocking you. You’re putting me back in my place and I wasn’t even making reference to anything you said.
My post came after yours, but it quotes someone else, not you.
Ok – so don’t take offense to mine then…but i would make the same statement to anyone who’s panicking over tonight’s loss…it’s just not a game to stress over…
I didn’t take offense. And I’m not panicking. Like I said, just felt like ranting, then it was over. Tomorrow’s another day.
everyone just likes to vent there frustrations we know its just one game but we also know that we missed the playoffs by one game last year. every game counts in the end. were all just stress cause we bleed orange and blue! GO METS!
I got a terribly great idea. Let’s all gather at one point in the season and play the Guiseppe Franco drinking game. Who wants in?
with Castillo and Delgado going the way they are, I am gonna need some hair thickener soon, hehe
man, I have law school finals, what am I doing on here near midnight….
I have been on this site 24/7 ever since I saw kotter interview Cerrone at the very beginning of last year, and today I just had to start posting
Welcome to the insane asylum we call Metsblog, counselor.
Been a tough early season. Every team has their ace ready for us. Hudson, Smoltz, Sheets, Hamels, and now Zambrano. I know we beat Hamels, but that’s normally 5 of the 8 losses.
just thought I would throw this out there…Cassanova sucks. The 35 year needs to go back to the minors and watch the Tom Emanski videos. Actually Castillo, Delgado and Beltran (as much as it pains me to say it) can pull up a chair next to him.
Yup, he is certainly no Mike DiFelice.
alou is coming back in a few days and i think that will significantly help this lineup, and castilo absolutely needs to be dropped in the order…these are games that the mets of 06′ would have won, that team had heart during the season, theyd be losing 2-1, keep the game close, and then win it in either the 8th or 9th innings. for the 08 team to be successful beltran and delgado need to start picking up some slack.
Just for the record: I don’t like willie, and i absolutely hate delgado and castillo, but isnt it incredible how negative all these post are just a mere two days after everyone was so upbeat from the 5 game winning streak. Guys it’s a long season.
i don’t know if ill be able to keep reading Metsblog if you guys are gonna get so worked up over every 2 losses in a row from now till september.
All that said, What is Wille doing with his lineup, or more specifically, why?
really the lineup is the only thing i am complaining about, personally. i can live with guys not executing (to a point) but i just feel like we were beat before the first pitch the first two nights. very frustrating.
I think Castillo lied about his age like Tejada did. I say he’s 3 years older than what he’s listed as…..
How about trading Heilman for Todd Helton? Just throwing it out there…. I think the Rockies were shopping Helton last year before the team began their incredible down the stretch run last year…..
Line – up when Alou comes back:
1. Reyes
2. Castillo
3. Wright
4. Beltran
5. Alou
6. Church
7. Delgado (or Mike Carp or Nick Evans)*
8. Schneider
9. Pitcher
*Nick Johnson in trade with Nats (?)
I’m more willing to be patient with Castillo in the 2 spot in the order than I am with Delgado in the 5th or 6th. Omar must start making plans for his replacement . . . NOW!
*Hey, even Dmitri Young perhaps in trade with Nats….
Does anyone know Castillo’s contract details?
I know he was signed for four years, but at how much? How many of the years are guaranteed?
I am truly hoping that Alou’s return will add the much needed power that our lineup is lacking at the moment. Unfortunately, I don’t think Delgado has much left. I am so happy for him when he gets a hit, but you can tell from his own facial expressions, he is frustrated. I don’t think it is an easy adjustment for a player of his magnitude to confront his age. I don’t think he is in denial. He has to know something is off. I don’t doubt his professionalism and work ethic, but there are things that a player can’t control. He can’t control the fact that pitchers are learning how to pitch to him. This is what makes Wright and Utley so dangerous, they can adjust and still hit the ball with authority.
If Delgado hits for power, I think we have a potent enough offense to compete with any team (i am including Alou). However, in his current slump, we require a stellar performance from our starting rotation and bullpen. To me, that’s too tall of an order to ask for ALL the time.
The 4year/$25M contract got him to sign a deal. It’s not a guarantee that he will play, only that he gets paid. He is due $6.25MM for 2008, slightly below El Duque’s $7MM. I think we can worry about 2011 at some later date.
is it me or is willies coaching approach giving this team the wrong identity. seriously, ever since last season ive had this feeling with this team that instead of being like “lets go out, win and show everyone!” they are more like “lets just go out and not lose.” i always hate to go back to last season but these guys should really be playing with a chip on there shoulder against everyone! they should have something to prove day in and day out! weve seen flashes of life out of reyes and wright is still solid, but nothing consistent. teams relished in beating the mets to contribute to the collapse last season and its like we are still on cruise control when we should be going for the jugular from the first pitch! and more often than not willies handling of the bullpen is just, well BULL@#$%, instead of feeling them out, sensing trouble and being proactive by pulling the guys before real trouble starts he does what he always does, the laid back approach! now no one trust any sort of lead we have cause we are waiting for the bullpen to blow it! this team is a reflection of the manager, wiilie, too laid back and because of that there is no sense of fight! thats the feeling i get from this team, sorry for the long post, just venting like everyone else
I agree with you about the “feel” remark. This year’s team and last year’s team feel a lot more bland and uninspired than the 06 team. The 06 team was like, “yeah, we’re the best team in baseball, and we’re going to prove it by kicking the snot out of everybody.” These teams are like “yeah, we’re pretty good. what’s that, we have a one run lead? okay, that’s enough for now, let’s just relax.”
That’s a good rant, but the game results show we 9-5 against the NLEast with 2 extra inning games. I know it has been bad the last two days, but let’s keep some perspective.
All in all, winning feels good, and losing feels bad. Same team, but depending on results, the “feel” is different.
hahaha i thought i was the only one who has had enough with the Giuseppe Franco thing already. It has played after every inning for the whole season. Your definitely right about Gary Busey helping to sell a product too hahaha
“Hey I’m Giuseppe Franco… I’m not putting my name on the line for a product that doesn’t work.”
Gary Busey looked a little too happy to see Giuseppe in that commercial if you ask me…
“It’s not a once daily regiment, or a twice daily regiment…. who has the time for that?”
“Listen guys, stop hiding the appearance of your thinning hair and do something about it!”
“This is the only product on the market that works just once every 90 days (90 day free trial).”
“He ran his hand through my hair, and he’s like ….. It works, it works.”
YOU DON’T NOTICE THE THINNING SPOTS!!!
yes I have seen this commercial more than any one person should, because in Albany, NY they play it on SNY and YES which happen to be 1 channel apart.
DAMN YOU GUISEPPE!!!!!
The part of the commercial where the guy puts his hat on as soon as the girls approach him is really funny…. he looks like an Einstein!…… he’s not fooling anybody.
Randolph cannot handle a pitching staff. Period. How many times this season and last has he pulled a guy going well after six innings, only to put a close game in the hands of his lower tier bullpen guys? Maine should’ve gone seven tonight, Perez should’ve been allowed to pitch out of that jam last night (and others this season).
No pen is strong enough to be expected to hold a team scoreless for four innings, yet Randolph puts his pen in that position on a daily basis. When your SP has only given up two runs after six–or worse, no runs in 5 2/3–you leave him in. Let him go 110, 120 pitches once in awhile.
A smart manager exploits his team’s strengths, he doesn’t lean on its weaknesses. SP is this team’s strength. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!
How do you know maine didn’t go up to peterson after the 6th and say thats it I’m running on fumes? He through 105-110 pitches and wasn’t going to make it another full inning. How many people were killing willie for leaving Santana in the other day when he gave up some big runs in the 7th or 8th inning? If Maine starts the inning and struggles and 2 people get on people would be killing willie for putting him out there with 105-110 pitch count already. Willie is in a lose-lose situation with some of the Mets fans on here!
Last night’s game was a mini version of the 2007 epic collapse…
Is Heilman going to get an endless leash all season long? The guy clearly is a weak link in the bullpen. Also, win 5 in a row with Chruch in the 2 spot, lose back to back games with Castillo back up top. Don’t get the change.
I love how in the beginning of the season everyone was saying that Willie and Omar were stupid for not putting heilman in the 5th spot and now that he struggles, he should be traded. This is why he’s not a starter, plain and simple! Don’t forget about Wise, he can be a solid RP when healthy and he’ll probably take Sosa spot in the pen. Wise can be the 7th and Sanchez will be the 8th and let Heilman get the 6th or mop up games until he can get his confidence back and show that he can produce!
HAHA Cyclone, KHern, and Mr. Spock… Lets just hope Garey Busey doesn’t read ur comments hes one crazy SOB haha
btw whats up with the guy in the commercial whos like “he ran his hand through my head and said it works…it works” is he talking about his boyfriend?
Haaaa, he says that? …. that commercial is funny ’cause it is so ridiculous…