Daily Archives: June 11, 2008
The Mets (31–33) defeated the D’Backs (35–31) by the score of 5 to 3 in Shea Stadium tonight.
For a full recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.
Billy Wagner, you can exhale now – and you owe Carlos Beltran a beer, who hit a walk-off, two-run home run to win tonight’s game in the 13th inning.
- Mike Pelfrey pitched eight, count them eight, wonderful, dominant, scoreless innings tonight, all while letting his fastball fly. He looked great. Hell, he even got his first hit of the season, that’s how well things were going for him tonight. There is no other word to describe Pelfrey, who did his absolute best to get his team a victory.
- However, Wagner came on in the ninth, after Pelfrey allowed the first batter of the inning to reach base.
- I rarely second guess, but Pelfrey should have been given the chance to finish this game – and I’m not playing Monday Morning QB.
- Instead, Willie Randolph chose to go to his closer, who, to his credit, had been lights-out most of this season. But, not tonight. Wagner gave up a three-run home run, and the game was tied, the crowd erupted in to boos, and the bench looked devastated.
- In the ninth, with one out, and with Beltran at the plate with an earlier attempt at a walk-off home run, the stadium and bench was silent. In fact, even after Beltran drew a walk, moving the winning run to first, the crowd let out only a mild sigh, as Jose Reyes sat starring blankly at the field. It was like it didn’t even matter if the team won, which was scary to see.
- In the 13th inning, moments before Beltran’s home run, SNY captured a great shot of David Wright walking in from popping out, after which he began punching the bench with his right hand in absolute frustration.
- Fortunately, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman and Claudio Vargas picked up where Pelfrey left off, pitching four scoreless innings in relief, which allowed Beltran the opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning with a walk-off home run.
Judging by the team’s reaction – and the fan reaction – in the bottom of the ninth, this would have been a devastating loss.
Instead, it’s a dramatic, inspiring, walk-off win, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Still, though, I still have a bad feeling in my stomach from the ninth – despite the win. The silence of the crowd and the bench in the bottom of the ninth, even with the winning run on second, was very, very eerie.
So, I’m happy, but it’s an exhausted, tired, skeptical kind of happiness – if that makes any sense.
The Mets complete their three-game series with the D’Backs tomorrow at 1 pm, with Johan Santana facing Dan Haren.
It’s June, and it’s crunch time.
It’s crunch time in the sense that, with a long hot summer looming, it will be very easy for the sub-.500 Mets to just check out mentally and quit on the rest of the season.
I hope they stay in the fight.
In the next 31 games, the Mets play the Phillies, Rockies, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals and Marlins, at which point it will be the All Star break.
The team’s ownership will then need to decide how best to keep potentially-bored fans tuned in with a long second half still to come.
In other words, as early as it is, the pressure is on.
“The bottom line with [the 1986 Mets] was…we didn’t care what was said about us; good, bad or indifferent,” Darryl Strawberry recently told the New York Post.
“I think sometimes [this current team] has trouble dealing with the pressure that comes with playing in New York.”
This morning on MetsBlog, I wrote that key players on the Mets are growing ‘sick of the pressure,’ sick of the booing, sick of the media, and sick of New York.
In April, Strawberry told me that, when he played, the more the fans booed, the more he wanted to shut them up – and so their passion ultimately made him a better player.
“That’s the test of the players,” Tom Seaver recently told me, when I talked with him for an interview that will run on SNY’s website tomorrow.
“Do you have foxhole people? Do you have people who you would get into a foxhole with and say, ‘You’ve got my back and I guarantee you I’m gonna watch your back.’”
The thing is, I’m not so sure the Mets have these players on their roster any more. If they were ‘foxhole people,’ they may now have shell-shock from The Collapse.
According to teammates from his days on the field, Willie Randolph is a ‘foxhole guy.’
Therefore, it’s up to Omar Minaya and Randolph to identify who does not have the stomach for the coming fight, and then they need to adjust.
“This is foxhole time,” Seaver said, and time is running out.
The Game:
The Mets (30-33) continue their three-games series versus the Diamondbacks (35-30) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm EST.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- LF Marlon Anderson
- C Brian Schneider
- RF Endy Chavez
- P Mike Pelfrey
The Pitchers:
RHP Mike Pelfrey (2-6, 4.65 ERA) starts for the Mets.
RHP Brandon Webb (11-2, 2.58 ERA) takes the hill for the Diamondbacks.
How To Catch It:
Tonight’s game can be seen locally on
and heard locally on WFAN.
The Bleachers:
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets…
Tagged Mike Nichols |
Moises Alou will not be with the team tonight, as he will instead have an MRI on his calf.
According to Willie Randolph, Alou may be ‘shut down’ for a couple of days.
…you can’t make this up, man…un…be…lievable…
Before leaving for his MRI, Alou told reporters that he is ‘embarrassed.’
…i mean, he couldn’t even get through half a game…half a game…
…seriously, do you think the league will allow him to hit from a wheel chair…because, i bet he could do it…and this way, it would limit the chances of him getting hurt again…plus, it’d be a much smaller strike zone…
To hear from Alou, tune in to the Pre Game Show at 6:30 pm tonight on .
In a recent report for SI.com, Jon Heyman writes that Howard Johnson could be the first person fired if the Mets do not turn things around soon.
According to Heyman, “What they should do is bring back Rick Down…Of course they won’t, because no one likes to admit mistakes.”
…i hate the thought of the Mets firing HoJo, strictly from a fan, 1986, notsalgia point of view…
Phillies (39-27, First):
Scott Lauber of the News Journal takes a look at the Phillies deep bullpen, who lead the Major League with a 2.58 ERA, and cites their success as the reason for the team’s fast start.
Balls, Stick & Stuff examines the Phillies ability to put teams away in the late innings.
Marlins (35-29, 2 LB):
Mike Berardino of the Sun-Sentinel gathered team reaction regarding their former teammate Dontrelle Willis, who was recently demoted by the Tigers to their Single-A affiliate.
At his blog for the Miami Herald, Greg Cote asks, “Who is the Marlins biggest rival?” Currently, the Phillies lead fan polling with 49.2%.
…that’s a tough question, but even though the Marlins have been a thorn in the Mets side for awhile i don’t think the Mets are their biggest rival…
Braves (32-33, 6 LB):
According to Thomas Stinson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, John Smoltz underwent successful shoulder surgery on Tuesday. However, during the surgery it was discovered Smoltz has ‘significant deterioration’ of his labrum, which puts his career in serious jeopardy.
David O’Brien of the AJC also reports the Braves placed Tom Glavine on the 15-day disabled list with a strained elbow.
Nationals (26-40, 13 LB):
Tagged Mike Nichols, Nationals, Phillies |Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times recaps the Nationals dramatic 7-6 victory over the Pirates last night and a in-dugout argument between manager Manny Acta and OF Elijah Dukes.
Video of the Acta/Dukes “discussion” can be seen here.
Over at Oleanders and Morning Glories, Harper Gordek wonders if the Nationals lineup is the worst ever.
Chris G sent in the following e-mail, asking:
“Can you explain to me what genius in the Mets organization decided it would be a good idea to schedule a charity event on the first off-day following a stretch of 21 straight games played, following their second road trip to the West Coast in two weeks?”
…i complained of this yesterday, as well, as did Keith Hernandez during Sunday’s broadcast…
…from what i understand, to the team’s credit, they did check with all sorts of people during spring training, from the players to Omar Minaya to Willie Randolph, when trying to find a date that worked for every one involved…also, several players joined on last minute, which would suggest they did not view this as the monumental inconvenience that you and i see it as…
…that said, despite what the players said, i just feel like the decision makers could have done the team a favor of allowing a true off day following such a bizarre and tedious travel schedule…of course, if the team was winning right now, i doubt i’d be writing any of this…
In an effort to take a small break from the free-flowing negativity surrounding the Mets today, check out the following video of me and SNY’s Ted Berg touring the Sports Museum of America in New York, which you can watch by clicking play below:
Yesterday, Omar Minaya was quoted as saying:
“The way the club’s assembled, when our full team is on the field, yes, it’s a playoff team…I believe that.”
A playoff team? Unfortunately, the Phillies, Braves, Marlins, and at least 25 other teams in MLB also have the talent to be ‘playoff teams,” as well.
I was given the impression that the Mets had built a ‘championship team,’ one that wins divisions and gets through the playoffs, not just to the playoffs.
Looking at the state of the team today, I don’t see the Mets as being either.
The starting rotation looked great on paper in February, but relied heavily on Oliver Perez pitching like he did in 2007; a healthy Pedro Martinez; and at least a half season from Orlando Hernandez. The assumption was that Hernandez would miss some starts, but Mike Pelfrey would have ‘a breakthrough.’
However, Perez has performed a ‘Jekyll and Hyde routine,’ Pedro has been on the disabled list for most of the season, Hernandez has disappeared, and Pelfrey remains a five-inning, one-pitch pitcher.
Similarly, the offense relied heavily on Moises Alou playing 100 games, Carlos Delgado returning to his 2006 form, and Luis Castillo solidifying the second spot. The lineup was supposed to be strong enough to overcome a .220-hitter behind the plate and a defensive specialist in right field.
Instead the lineup has been punchless, mainly because Alou has appeared in only 14 of the team’s first 62 games, Delgado continues to decline, and Castillo has been a disappointment.
If the Mets truly want to be a playoff team, drastic changes need to be made – in personnel, management, and expectations.
This team can’t continue to expect that Alou, Martinez, and Hernandez will be healthy; they can’t wait for Delgado to ‘get in the groove’; or believe this is the game Pelfrey finally puts it all together. In other words, the Mets can’t ‘hope’ a team to the postseason.
It’s time for management to stop talking about all the supposed ‘talent’ on the roster, forget the illusions of 2006, and come to the realization that this team is a collection of broken-down, overaged, unmotivated has-beens who often sleepwalk through ballgames.
They need to open their eyes, see the same things everyone else sees, and start fixing the problems – because they’re not going to fix themselves.
[Poll=116]
