Daily Archives: May 19, 2009
At 11 a.m. EST, Mets’ beat writer, David Lennon of Newsday, will be having another live chat with fans.
Chicago Mets Fan chronicles her trip to San Francisco to see the Mets, and has a ton of great pictures.
Greg at Faith and Fear in Flushing recaps last night’s game, and Rich of Hot Foot calls it the “Worst Loss Ever”.
…it was a challenge finding links that did not touch on last night’s loss…seems like the sky is falling out there, but it’s not…yet…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
Last night, in the 11th, Brian Stokes walked the lead-off hitter, who advanced to second on the following play when Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran did not communicate on a pop up that dropped between them for a hit.
“I called that ball like six times,” Beltran explained to reporters, from his locker following the game. “That particular play right there, I 
have priority, so once I call that ball… if it was a different way, Pagan would have called that ball, and my job is to get out of the way. But, basically he stood in the middle and I couldn’t see the ball… He knows that when the center fielder calls for the ball, every one has to get out of the way.”
…not to mention, beltran has been playing two positions all season, basically in center field and left-center, since he needs to cover so much ground with Daniel Murphy and Gary Sheffield usually next to him… so, it’s understandable that he’d move in on pagan’s ball, because he’s been doing it all season and he’s totally capable… pagan needs to be aware… if you watch the video, carlos was clearly calling for that ball the entire way, yet pagan moved in on it then backed off at the absolute last second, spooking beltran who did the same… and so the ball dropped to the ground…
Later, Stokes got a weak pop up for one out, then got the desired hard ground ball to first, which could have been an inning-ending double play, but Reed, who is not necessarily a skilled first baseman, and who made a nice scoop, chucked the ball low, wide and past Ramon Castro, who was not yet in position to receive the throw, letting the winning run score.
“Everything happened so fast,” Reed told reporters after the game. “Maybe more than anything, I just tried to be a little too quick, tried to get two as opposed to one… I haven’t practiced that, but I should be able to do that… I pride myself on wherever he sticks me to be able to make plays.”
… nice… ‘i haven’t practiced that,’ he said,’ i.e., i am not a first baseman, i don’t know everything about the position, and i’m doing the best i can… and he’s right… up to the point, he’s looked quite good on defense at first base, or at least better than i expected… so, to expect him execute on every aspect of every play, like a Gold Glover, when it’s only his fifth start in the big leagues at first, is unrealistic…
…the problem here isn’t reed or pagan, specifically… the problem is a roster full of in-between players… the problem is injuries, and guys being forced to play in spots that a) they’re not used to playing, and b) their teammates are not used to them playing… and so, mistakes and confused play will happen… and, it’s starting to be a problem…
…Omar Minaya needs to get a grip on this roster, and give Jerry Manuel a more stable set of people to pull from…
In one of the more painful moments of the season, Ryan Church missed third base last night, while rounding the bag 
on his way to scoring what could have been the go-ahead run.
However, Joe Torre immediately called to the umpire for an appeal, who called Church out for stepping in front of the base – not on it.
To me, it looked like Church knew he goofed up, as he sheepishly looked over his shoulder while limping back to the dugout.
“I thought I touched it. I thought I did,” Church said from his locker following the game. “That’s why I kept going. If I had any doubt I would have stopped. I just feel terrible for not being able to touch the bag. It’s a simple thing to do. I didn’t do it.”
…yes, we know you thought you touched third… that’s the point… you thought you did, but you didn’t… ugh…
The other newsworthy element, though, is that Manuel essentially left Church out to dry – first, by not arguing the call, and later by not defending his actions during the post-game talk with reporters as he normally will do.
Honestly, I never bought in to the popular talk that said, ‘Manuel is no fan of Church,’ which started in spring training. However, it’s hard to deny it following last night’s events. I mean, Manuel literally turned his back on Church when he entered the dugout after the play. Crazy.
Manuel clearly has no issue with arguing calls. He does it a lot. At minimum, he jogs out to clarify, last week he bumped the ump. Yet, last night with Church, he did nothing. Why? Did he take his cue from Church’s body language, which suggested the ump would be right? Did Razor Shines signal weigh out? Or, did Manuel essentially quit on Church, for the final time? If so, why? What’s Manuel’s beef with Church, who’s hitting .276 with just eight RBI?
Here’s the thing, whatever the reason, something isn’t right, and this may end up being the beginning of the end of Church’s time in New York – especially since Angel Pagan is hitting, and with so many other options on the bench.
Mike Francesa, do you have anything to add? I bet you do.
Tagged Ryan Church |Mets manager Jerry Manuel looked bewildered while speaking with reporters after last night’s game, and had the following to say regarding…
Ryan Church, who did not step on third base on his way to scoring what could have been the go-ahead run:
“Uhh, a guy missed third base. That’s unbelievable. I can’t explain why or how or anything. But, he actually missed the base… To me, it’s just hard to miss third base. I’ve known some guys to miss first, because they’re looking for the ball and misstep, but I have rarely, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a guy miss third base in a situation like that. I don’t know, I don’t have any explanation.”
Why he did not go out to argue the call of Church missing the bag:
“I asked Razor and he said he missed it.”
The dropped fly-ball between Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran in the 11th inning, which allowed the eventual winning run to advance to second:
“Well, Carlos is the center fielder and he was calling for the ball. Angel, as talented and as quick as he is, he can be underneath a ball and really not know it, because you’re so used to covering that ground, but you’ve got to give way to the center fielder.”
I’m working on posts for this morning… but, frankly, on just a few hours of sleep, I have no idea where to begin.
I still can’t believe what I watched last night.
Man, what a mess?
Here is SNY.tv’s Post Game Extra, from last night’s ugly loss to the Dodgers, featuring clips of the game; quotes from Jerry Manuel and Carlos Beltran; and analysis from Ron Darling and Gary Cohen:
The Mets lost to the Dodgers, 3–2, in 11 innings tonight.
For a full recap and boxscore, go here.
The Least You Should Know:
- Errors in the final inning from Carlos Beltran, Angel Pagan and first baseman Jeremy Reed cost the Mets.
- The Mets had the go-ahead run taken away on an appeal play after Ryan Church missed third base in the ninth.
- The Mets were charged with five errors, but made several more mental mistakes that will not show up in the boxscore.
The Rest You Should Know:
- I feel like, in the majority of this team’s losses, the Mets beat themselves, be it with errors, mental and physical, or walking in runs, or leaving 100 men on base, etc., which is a real shame. I mean, you can only play so many sloppy games like this, before they eventually start manifesting themselves in the loss column.
- Crazy things will happen when people are playing out of position, flying in to start at short, and starting at new positions for the first time all season.
- In one of the more bizarre moments of the season, Ryan Church missed third base, stepping in front of it, while rounding the bag on route to ‘scoring’ a run. I’m actually impressed the ump made the call, but he did. Joe Torre knew it immediately, calmly and cooly calling for the throw over. Church even looked like he knew he goofed up on his walk back to the bench, awkwardly looking over his shoulder.
- Church got lucky earlier in the game, because he actually got picked off of first base on a throw down by the catcher, but the umpire missed the call and said he was safe.
- Jerry Manuel looked dumbfounded during his post-game talk with reporters. I feel the same way.
- For what it’s worth, Redding did a nice job, rebounding from a rough, two-run first inning, to pitch five scoreless innings.
- Also, it should be noted, despite the errors, the Mets did a nice job on offense working their way back, as Angel Pagan had four hits, including a double to lead-off the eighth inning, and scoring the tying run on a single from Gary Sheffield.
- In the 11th, Brian Stokes walked the lead-off hitter, who advanced to second the following play when Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran did not communicate on a pop up that dropped between them for a hit. Jerry Manuel intentionally walked Juan Pierre, and then put Beltran on the infield next to second base, as the rest of the infield played in on the edge of the grass. Stokes got a weak pop up for one out, then got the desired hard ground ball to first, which could have been a double play, but Reed, who is not necessarily a skilled first baseman, and who made a nice scoop, chucked the ball low, wide and past Ramon Castro, letting the winning run score.
- The Mets have lost two in a row after an 11-2 stretch.
- In other words, “U.G.L.Y, You ain’t got no alibi you ugly. Hey! Hey! You Ugly.”
The Mets remain in Los Angeles tomorrow night to take on the Dodgers, with John Maine facing Chad Billingsley.
