Daily Archives: June 2, 2009
Last night, Jerry Manuel talked to reporters after the game and had the following to say about:
J.J. Putz, who has allowed six runs on six hits, while walking two, in his last two appearances, during which he got just one out:
“Obviously, he’s got to get the ball down… He’s struggling right now, that’s the bottom line… I would hope that when a guy is struggling, there will be somebody who steps up until he gets it right, and I think we have that guy in Bobby Parnell. We’re gonna have to see if Sean Green can be part of that equation, along with Pedro Feliciano… So, we have some choices… Id probably have to see if the match up really favors him (before I put Putz back in the eighth-inning role), you know, that type of thing. I gotta find some success and then the confidence will probably come back, and that will be key for him and for us.”
Gary Sheffield, and whether he is bothered by a hamstring issue, since he looked to be favoring it all night when running:
“Uhh, not that I know of… You know, he’s played a lot, so I don’t think so… I see him a lot of times with a lot of heat and ice on his legs, it might not be bothering him, but there’s something there.”
…as someone said to me on Twitter last night: or, this is what it looks like when a 40–year-old DH is running in the outfield…
Following the game, Manuel told reporters he has been playing with pain behind his knee, noting he will not need a day off so long as he continues to be smart about how to exert himself.
Last night, set-up man J.J. Putz entered the game in the eighth inning, up two runs, with a man on third and one out.
He then let up a four consecutive singles using just eight pitches, which allowed the Pirates to take a one-run lead, before being pulled from the game.
…eight pitches, four hits, three runs scored… think about that for a second…
Putz, speaking with reporters after the game, said:
“Overall, I felt good, I felt like I was pounding the zone, just two splits that were thrown for strikes that they got out in front of and hit a three-hopper up the middle – not much you can say about that, just a bit of bad luck involved.”
…j.j., were you watching the same game i was… first of all, it’s bad luck when it happens once, maybe twice… it’s just plain bad when it happens four times in a row, like it did last night… also, sure, i guess you were ‘pounding the zone,’ except you were pounding it with meatballs…
…for what it’s worth, putz also had a difficult time getting the ball to Brian Schneider during the intentional walk to his final batter, forcing brian to actually leave his feet once to make a catch…
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, courtesy of ESPN.com, last night was only the second time in 336 career appearances that Putz faced at least three batters and failed to retire any of them.
Prior to yesterday’s game, Jerry Manuel said Putz would still be used primarily as his eighth-inning reliever.
Last night, however, Manuel said a) Putz will not pitch tonight, and b) when he returns, he is likely to no longer be used as the primary eighth-inning set-up man.
…paging Bobby Parnell… please pick up the white courtesy phone… thank you…
According to multiple reports, Putz spent much of Monday afternoon studying video with the team’s bullpen coach, as well as Schneider, then working in the bullpen on his delivery with pitching coach Dan Warthen.
…three things, 1) he’s out in front of the ball, 2) he’s got nothing on his splitter or his fastball, which he’s throwing belt high at best, and 3) he has no command, though he did throw strikes last night… i have no idea whether this is all connected to his preference to be a closer, if it’s connected to the bone spur in his elbow, or whether it’s just bad luck, as he says, but it’s something… and it has to stop, in some way, shape or form…
Last night was the first time this season the Mets lost a game when leading after seven innings.
Here is SNY.TV’s Post Game Extra, from last night’s painful loss to the Pirates, featuring clips from the game; quotes from Jerry Manuel, Livan Hernandez and J.J. Putz; and analysis from Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen:
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