Fragile - handle with care?

We'll see how resilient the 'new' Mets are. If they can't shake off last night's loss then this will be a long season. They didn't do badly coming from behind last night, but then the 8th inning and it was all thrown away. Whether that was one bad game or the end of the good feeling, we'll know better in a couple of hours. So far, Pelfrey & Reyes are not helping the cause.

The Heilman decision: I couldn't believe it when I heard that Heilman was coming in with a man on first and no one out in the 8th. I've been encouraged by his recent good form, but I wasn't ready to call him cured. Why was Willie? Was it some form of experiment? Anyway, I was annoyed by that decision. Smith or Sanchez would have been more to my liking.

Ho hum - another win

What the heck is going on? Timely hitting? Taking advantage of the other team's errors? Strong relief pitching? Smart managing? These are not the Mets I've been acquainted with for the first two months of the season.

The Mets scored 8 two out runs. EIGHT!

Carlos Muniz's strike-out of Kemp in the 6th was HUGE. After that the result wasn't in doubt.

I loved Willie's decision to let Schoenweiss hit for himself in the 7th. I was keen on Schoenweiss facing the first two lefties in the 8th. Once the Mets had extended the lead to 4 again, getting two outs in the 8th was the biggest issue. And, Schoenweiss did the job. Again. What a difference this year. I fully believe he was hurt all last year. I was skeptical when I first heard that. I only wish he'd have owned up during the season because he didn't help the team last year. He's been tremendous this year.

"More than half the story is that he left his feet", according to Howie after Delgado's diving stop on a shot by Ethier in the 4th. It was amusing how both Howie and Wayne noted that Delgado was busy cleaning himself up, almost as if he really hated getting dirty. Later he dived again in an attempt to get Martin on a line drive DP. Got a couple of hits too. Signs of life in Carlos. Here's hoping.

*****

I love the fact the three of the runs scored on Penny in the 4th after the catcher's interference were earned. I can't even remember why, but I just don't like Penny.

The crowd

I love how Howie ignores the propaganda of the paid attendance figures, which are all that the club releases these days, to let the listeners know that the actual attendance is quite a bit smaller. He throws out his own estimate for the crowd, which I think he said was about 30,000 last night. (Paid attendance was over 47,000.)

Finally.

Sheesh. Oliver Perez. My patience isn't what others' is. This guy just drives me nuts. He just can't stand having the lead, can he? Each time he gave up a home run, the Mets tacked on a run to extend the lead. So he decided to take decisive action and surrender a 3-run homer just to see how his teammates like them apples. Well...

That 3-run bomb made it 5-4 Florida in the 6th. Once the Mets failed to score in the bottom of the 6th that was it. Right? 1-19 on the year when trailing after 6. And against Florida's bullpen you knew they were done when you realize that they have Gibson, Koufax, Carlton & Rivera to finish up. What? Oh. You mean Waechter, Pinto, Lindstrom & Gregg and others are not the same quality as those first four? Then there was no reason for pessimism, but still I was feeling it. A run or two was hardly an impossibility, but to me it seemed less likely than the impossible.

We knew going into the season that they didn't have the offensive firepower of previous years and with Church & Alou out, well the pitching has to step up. And the bullpen was excellent. Great inning by Schoenweiss. Fantastic 8th & 9th by Heilman. 2nd excellent outing in a row. (Imagine if he gets his act together ...) Wagner was strong in the 10th. Then Sanchez. He was doing fine - 5 straight outs - until he decided to make Amezega angry with some chin music and Amezega took him deep.

And that was it. 6-5 Florida and the Mets have lost 20 of 21. Right? That pessimisim again.

But, what's this? Bottom of the 12th, Wright walks, Beltran singles with Wright running and one out later Fernando Tatis doubles home the tying and winning runs. Fernando Tatis. And just like that the Mets are 2 & 19 in games they've trailed after 6.

This was a great win. I just hope it means something.

*****

Interesting that Randolph didn't use Delgado to pinch hit for either Easley or Tatis. I agreed with Willie's decision because I'm simply sick of Delgado. Still, it was interesting. And, I'll admit I was glad it was Easley hitting in the 12th rather than Delgado. But, Easley did the one thing he couldn't do in that situation - strike out. Even a ground ball double play would have tied the game. Water under the bridge...

How many times has Beltran hit a line drive right at someone in a big moment late in the game? Aren't those supposed to even out at some point during the season? Again, in the 8th, he lined out hard to 3rd.

Using a pitcher as a pinch-runner: Last night after Delgado walked Howie thought the Mets should have used a pitcher to run for Delgado. I wasn't keen because with one out I don't want a pitcher trying to break-up a double play or whatever. When Delgado got to 2nd with two outs I was a little more relaxed when Willie put Maine in, although I didn't want to imagine Maine trying to bowl the catcher over on a play at the plate. In the end, it didn't matter.

After Perez's 4th inning walk to Helms Castro started out to the mound. Wayne said he thought he was going to walk or jog really out to the mound. Howie: "It's the same thing. Walk or jog with Castro". Wayne: "That's true. They should have the pitcher come to him".

It's not because they're "Latin" players

When I was a kid the stereotype was that Latin players were hot-headed. Today I hear/read about how the Mets' Latin players don't care.

I don't think anyone ever accused Juan Marichal of not caring about winning. His best years were just before I started watching baseball, but my memory of Marichal was that he was a killer on the mound, the kind of guy who could explode at any moment. (And I've seen and read about what happened with Johnny Roseboro.)

Mets' fans are frustrated with a number of players right now, mostly with Delgado and Castillo, but also with Reyes and Beltran. I'll start with Beltran. He does seem to be a pretty low key guy, but he's an excellent ballplayer. He's had a few misplays in CF the past week, which I attribute to him trying too hard. Trying to do too much. Also, he's not quite as good as he played in 2006, which put expectations too high.

Reyes seems to just lose his focus at times. Last night he had his third straight game with at least one error. He's in a fielding slump, which shouldn't kill the club if the pitchers can pick him up. Santana did last night, but Maine & Pelfrey were unable to in the previous starts.

Castillo was a bad signing, although I realize that Omar's hands were tied, a little, by what was available to him for 2B coming into this season. Still 4 years is a loooong time for a guy with bad knees. I don't see enough of the Mets to judge whether he's always putting out 100%, but from what I hear from Howie and see in clips there are times when he seems to mail it in when he hits a ground ball. Still, I suspect Met fans are mostly frustrated by the fact that they'll have to watch him decline for another 3.5+ seasons.

I don't know whether Delgado cares or not, but it seems pretty clear that he's only a shadow of the player he used to be. It happens. Players get old. It's hard for him to accept and deal with. However, that's what Willie is paid to do. Deal with the players he has. Omar provided the team and Willie has to make best use of it. If that includes platooning Delgado, that's life.

His bat and his glove are killing the Mets. Unfortunately, they don't have a lot of options so a platoon is probably the best we can hope for. For now.

The Mets pick up a game in the standings. A welcome development, surely, but another win tonight is a minimum requirement. The Mets don't need to win 10 in a row (although that would be nice), but they need to win series. Three or four in series win in a row would be a start to turning this season around.

Last night's win was thanks to the 'new' guys in the line-up. (I know Castro's not 'new', but he gets few starts.) Tatis & Castro had 4 RBI's combined. Even when Church comes back I'd be inclined to use Tatis at 1B and give Delgado more 'days off'.

Home-runs and wild pitches. Santana has been plagued by both this year. He's just not the superstar pitcher that Met fans thought they were getting. He's been good, but far from great this year. Last night we had a bit of both as Santana won, but not without struggling. If Santana doesn't produce the way the Mets expect it may mark the end of big contracts for pitchers. Zito was a warning. Santana may be the second warning. Will anyone be willing to hope that it's a case of 'third time lucky' with free agent pitchers?

Leading 5-3 heading to the 8th Willie brought in Sanchez to start the inning even though left-handed hitting Luis Gonzalez was leading off. I would have preferred Shoenweiss, who has been nearly unhittable against lefties this year. Sanchez could have been brought in to face Treanor & Ross.

I can't understand this '8th inning guy' mind-set. You have to go with the guy who's most likely to get you the out you need. The other team has 6 outs left. Why not make it hard for them to get something going with the first of those 6? As it is, Sanchez got the next three after allowing the lead-off double.

*****

Before the game Wayne Hagin forecast that Fernando Tatis would have a good game. He said Tatis looked focused and was swinging well in batting practice. Howie complimented Hagin on his prescience after Tatis's second 2-out RBI hit.

Jordie and George Hahn. Wayne played little league ball with Don Hahn's brothers. Howie brought up Don Hahn when he started one of his favorite discussions: should Yogi have gone with Stone & Seaver for Games 6 & 7 during the '73 World Series? Howie was disappointed that Don's brothers weren't Ron and Juan.

"Championship talent"

Jack Curry agress with Omar that the Mets have a lot of talent.

The Mets (23-26) have perhaps more talent than any team in the National League East, but they are six and a half games behind the first-place Marlins. Minaya said that the Mets, whose payroll is almost $140 million, had "championship talent," but that there was a difference between championship talent and a championship team.

This is what boggles me. What is the definition of talent that these two are using and how do they measure it? The Mets are NOT that talented. They're expensive, but not that good.

Obviously a sportswriter's opinion is not that important. The GM's, however, is crucial. And the Mets' GM has confused the 'big name' with big talent. On paper the Mets clearly have the best team - if this were 2005. But, it's not. Omar doesn't seem to be paying much attention. Many big name players are NOT as good now as they were a few years ago. The Mets lead the league in this category. Omar's still thinking like it's the late 90s.

Omar's invested the Wilpons' millions on the wrong things. He bought yesterday's designer labels when he should have invested in finding tomorrow's hot items. The Mets have been going the wrong way since Beltran struck out and that's mostly on Omar.

This team is simply not good

The Mets are 1 W 19L when trailing after SIX innings. As Howie said when Wayne had provided that little nugget, "That's shocking". Wayned added that he couldn't remember the one win. {17th of April against Washington in 14 innings}

That stat says so, so much about this team. First of all, it illustrates how little fight this team has. 1-19 is the kind of record you expect when trailing after 8, not after 6 innings. And, seeing as the Mets have 26 losses now, that means they've lost 7 games that they were NOT trailing after 6 innings.

And everyday it's something else that leads to the loss. Failure to get the big hit; misplays in the field; poor starting pitching or a collapse in the bullpen. Sometimes you can add a healthy dose of stupidity, although I don't remember that being a feature last night. Usually it's a combination of more than one factor.

Last night Pelfrey wasn't good enough. He couldn't work around Reyes's error in the first. That was the first misplay. Loaded the bases in front of Beltran's misplay on a bloop hit into a 3-run double. Chavez's throw home was about 40 feet short. Maybe there were others, I can't remember.

The bullpen wasn't too bad. Heilman was good for two innings. Smith had a scoreless inning. Wise was lucky, not good. He hasn't been good, but it's not like he's the first call when a game is on the line.

Then there's the hitting. Bases loaded, nobody out in the first and all the Mets managed was a run. That's not a winnig formula. Last night the Mets last hit came with nobody out in the 5th. I'd love to see a stat on the Mets' hitting from innings 6-9.

All of this adds up to a team that is, well, not good. We - the fans - need to adjust. The Mets are not good. The Mets' brass needs to accept this too. Clean house now. Time to rebuild. Need to restock the minor leagues. Need to get rid of all the aging, fading players. Need

*****

The crowd is still booing Delgado when he fails at the plate and I have to believe this is a result of the non-appearance on the curtain call back on April 28. He hasn't been that bad lately, but the crowd let him have it when he made out later in the game.

It's gonna happen now, isn't it?

You wanted to believe on Saturday. Just like you wanted to believe last Sunday or when they swept the Marlins in Florida the next to last weekend of the season last year. You wanted to believe.

But, it's time to just face facts. The teams is as good as their record indicates. And that's just not that good.

Yesterday the Mets lost to a ball club that struggled to field a team. No Holliday. No Atkins. No Tulowitzki. No Taveras. That's a lot of offense missing, but still they couldn't win. The Mets offense is missing Alou, Church & Anderson. Sure that hurts, but not nearly as much as the Rockies' missing bats. Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran & Delgado were all in the line-up and went 2 for 14 combined against Aaron Cook. Reyes got picked off - again.

On top of that he booted a sure DP ball. I think Jose really wants to see the end of Willie. I'm getting to the point where I'm sick of seeing Jose. He's gotta wake up. This series should have been like a playoff series for this team, but they lost it.

I can't imagine Willie will still be the Mets' manager when the team runs out tonight to take the field against Florida. I won't be upset if he is, however, but something's gotta change and fast. There's still plenty of time if the Mets play decent baseball, but that's the big IF. Can they play decent baseball?

Ol Moises

It's funny. I don't really like Mike Lupica, but still I read his column each Sunday. This week I'm glad I did just for the last line in the article.

I look at John McCain's medical records in Saturday's paper and think to myself: Wow, he's in better shape than Moises Alou!

Willie loves youth?

Willie loves youth. That's just what he said on Mets Extra when talking about Nick Evans and his call-up and start today. I never thought Willie loved youth. I always thought he didn't like young players.

Jose Reyes - the Oliver Perez of shortstops

So many things were done well last night. Very well. It makes it all the harder to admit that a few bad things and one amazingly stupid thing gets the team another loss. Schoenweiss's two strong innings. Wow. Great stuff. Tatis hitting the long ball after coming in for Anderson. Delgado with a couple of big hits, including a double that he legged out. Endy using his bat. Beltran's catch in CF. So many good pluses that it hurts to admit that it's just another loss.

Again, I didn't see the game, but did Reyes hit his head on that play where Barmes got injured? Was he too woozy to realize that he was about to be picked off in a situation where he absolutely CANNOT be picked off? Sometimes I fear that Reyes and Perez share a brain. I mean he can be so, so good and at times he can be so dumb like he's not even paying attention. As the kids in Ireland say, "he does my head in".

In defense of Wayne

It seems that nearly all Mets fans are down on Wayne Hagin. I can understand why. As I wrote at Metsblog:

… there's just something about his game-calling that doesn't do it for me. He strikes me as a guy who bought into every sentence in the book: "Announcing Major League Baseball Games for Dummies". He seems to lack genuineness, if that's a word.

So, yeah, I'm not over the moon with Hagin so far, but as I've said before he needs time to settle in and to see if he and Howie can develop the right 'chemistry' (if that's the word) in the booth.

In Wayne's favor: he tells it as he sees it, which I like. So many announcers shy away from criticizing the home team (or any team), but Wayne's not so shy. Last night in the bottom of the 2nd he and Howie had different perspectives on what went wrong on Teixeira's infield hit that led to the Braves' first run.

Howie maintained that Castillo's throw, from one knee, was too weak and that he might have had a play at first. Wayne, however, argued that Schneider was not in position to receive the throw home. It was a good clear discussion that helped me to fully understand how a runner can score from second on an infield hit. {Did not make me any less annoyed, I'll admit.}

Anyway, the two discussed it for a while, each stating his position on what went wrong. Wayne's style doesn't always suit me, but that was a good example of the two announcers working well together. Wayne can be frustratingly cliché at times, but he does seem to know the game well. I hope the more he relaxes the more he feels like he can just be himself and less forced.

UPDATE:Okay, I saw the play with Castillo from last night's game. Now I have to row back a bit on Wayne. What was he talking about? Sure Schneider was a bit out of position, but he was probably just as stunned as Howie was that Castillo thought he could throw home from his knees. Castillo made a bad decision there.

Santana

As for Santana, I was not with the majority of Met fans on the Santana deal. I just thought it was too much money, too big a commitment in years for a pitcher. AND, there's a reason why so many teams have been getting younger.

I'm not saying that Santana was up to anything in the past, but I think after the 2006 season was the time to almost start over, to at least consider that what you thought you knew may not be true. Resources should have been thrown at scouting, player development, etc.

It's almost like the Mets are in denial regarding what went on in baseball through the 2006 season. 2007 was the time to start getting younger because too many of the game's older stars were at least 'suspect', but the Mets don't seem to have understood this.

Everyone assumes that Florida will fade because the team is young and unknown, but it's also possible that their youth means that these guys are the face of baseball's future. Players who were less likely to be seduced by the chemical advantages that created so many of the game's stars over the past two decades.

Going the youth route might be painful, but that was the right move to building a winning organization after 2006. It's still the right move. Instead, the Mets have assembled an overpaid, under-performing cast of players who may never again be as good as they were. And they also have virtually no talent in the minor leagues to call on. To my mind this is all on Omar and if Willie is going to go, so should Omar.

Closer, but still not good enough

Yes, they lost. Again. Somehow this one didn't 'feel' as bad as the others, except for the fact that I really needed the Mets to win it. I'm not sure it's as crucial as it feels in the sense that there's a long way to go, but as a fan I found this series excruciating.

Yet, I only have to think back to last season to how the Mets handled Philadelphia right up to the end of June and how none of that mattered come September. If the Mets can right the ship there'll be plenty of time to beat Atlanta later in the summer. Righting the ship is all that matters at this time and I 'feel' (that word again) that last night was closer to righting the ship than any of the other three games.

Too much is made of how a couple of wins can turn a season around, but I'd like to think that the Mets can come out this weekend and win 2 of 3 in Colorado and come home feeling a bit better.

When things are going badly, they're going badly. The defense cost the Mets and Santana last night's game. How many errors/misplays did the Mets have? There was Schneider's error that got the first run to score on base. There was the odd infield hit that scored that runner from second. There was Wright's blunder on the throw from Chavez when Kotsay was two steps from the bag.

On top of that, the Braves peppered Santana with a load of singles. He couldn't seem to strike anyone out. All of that added up to another loss to complete the sweep.

Small ball. I love small ball and the Mets just don't do it well enough. The perfect example was last night's 7th inning when the Mets got Beltran to 2nd with nobody out, but couldn't score him. The bottom of the 7th and the Braves got a runner on 2nd with nobody out and they managed to get the runner home thanks to a bunt and a bloop hit. And after that the flood gates opened and two more runs came across the plate.

*****

Mets are "busting it and they've been told to bust it" was how Wayne let us know that Reyes had run hard out of the box on a pop up early in the game. Later Howie remarked that Reyes jogged the first two steps on a ground out to 2nd, but then turned on the jets as if he'd just remembered he's supposed to run those out. As both Wayne & Howie both said, "Why does a major leaguer have to 'remember' to do that"?

"You never see Carlos leave his feet" - Howie on Delgado's defense after Chipper's ground ball base hit in the 3rd. Delgado is a real liabilty in the field, although I think he's not bad at receiving throws and he bails out Wright, in particular, fairly often.

Chipper wants a sign

Just heard Chipper tell Eddie Coleman on Mets Extra that he wants to bring his son - Shea - to NY for pictures etc. this summer before the stadium is torn down. In fact, he'd really like a sign. Is there no way out of this nightmare?

Howie a bright spot on a dark night

Line of the year from Howie last night. I'm still laughing.

During the 7th inning of another disastrous game (more on that later - maybe) Howie & Wayne were talking about Mike Piazza and the Hall of Fame. Howie said that Clemens and Piazza will both be eligible for the Hall in the same year, although Howie added that he didn't think Clemens would be getting in so fast. He followed that with: "Next time he throws the bat at something it might be to break some rocks". I burst out laughing. Wayne didn't know what to say and admitted it.

As for the game - what? Pelfrey was only the first of many who couldn't get anyone out. Too many walks. Oh, and HBP. How many Braves are the Mets going to hit? You gotta admire the way the Braves aren't retaliating. It's as if they don't want to disturb the Mets, who are only occasionally breathing it seems.

I can't blame Reyes for last night's game. He did his part. Endy in the 2-hole didn't help matters. I can't understand why Willie didn't put Castillo back there with Church out. I like Endy - don't we all? - but he's really not hitting. I think it's a good idea to give him playing time to see if he can get his bat untracked, but why second? Also, what happened to Endy's drag bunt? Has he tried that yet this year?

*****

'Cramped left calf muscle'. Moises sure is high maintenance.

Howie pointed out that Jurrjens ran hard on a groundout to short that it was "good to see" because when Beltran grounded into the double-play in the 3rd he jogged. And people sometimes wonder why Met fans aren't enthralled with this team.

The Braves "weren't happy with Ryan Church" on that play that ended the Tuesday night game, according to what Bobby Cox told Eddie Coleman during Mets Extra. During the 3rd, Wayne talked about how after Randolph's pre-game press meeting Ryan Church ran - ran - into Willie's office. Wayne and Howie both knew it was because Church wanted to play today. Not even a day after suffering a concussion. Ya gotta love Church.

Wayne & Howie had a good discussion on whether Chipper Jones (a) will make the Hall of Fame and (b) will it be on the first ballot. Howie thought he'd probably make the Hall, but not first ballot. Even still he wasn't 100% certain. Wayne thought he'd definitely be in the Hall and probably first ballot. Both Howie & Wayne brought up the changes in drugs use that will cut the home-run numbers and limit the big years for those over 35. {All of this was during the 6th when the Braves put the game out of reach – as if it wasn't when it was 2-1 – on McCann's single and Francoeur's homer.}

And this is petty, I know, but can't Eddie Coleman avoid using the Braves' nicknames when interviewing them? During the post-game he was talking to Brian McCann and referred to "Frenchy" (Francoeur). Uggh.

Swept away

Swept. That's the word for what happens to you when you lose both games of a doubleheader. And, yesterday's two losses more than make up for the two wins over the weekend. They've eliminated all the good feeling that the two wins over the Yankees generated.

Wayne and Howie both let Reyes have it after he got thrown out trying to steal in the 4th. Down 4-0 at the time, "you'd better make it".

You know what's shocking? The Mets might have the fourth best shortstop in the NL East. Who would ever have imagined that two years ago? Am I exaggerating? Well, yeah a bit. Reyes has been a big disappointment since the middle of 2007. And, during that same stretch, Rollins has won the M.V.P., Ramirez has blossomed into a superstar and Escobar has really come on (not much power - yet).

If the Mets are going to be as good as all of us think they should be, Jose Reyes needs to get it going. He needs to put together a three week stretch of hitting and running. He was the Mets M.V.P. in 2006 and he's the most disappointing player since.

Have not had that "definitive come from behind win. Even a bad team would have had one or two and we're in the 43rd game".

The Mets lead the league in hitting batters with the pitch. I hope Feliciano meant it when he hit Johnson in the 6th. I can't imagine he meant it with Blanco.

Aaaaaaahhhhhh

Boy, talk about a deflater. I could handle Maine not having it today. I can even live with the fact that the Mets lost this game. But, I'm frustrated, annoyed, angry and dejected that the Mets didn't do anything against Glavine this afternoon. They had him on the ropes in the first and after that it was lights out.

Okay. Game lost. Not a big deal so long as they come out angry and intense this evening and get the nightcap.

Chicago 7 - Houston 2

Decided to go with Chicago vs Houston simply because Ted Lilly (my fantasy team) is pitching for Chicago. Boy are Chicago's announcers DULL. I take back anything I might have said about Eddie Coleman. Ron Santo refers to the Cubs as "we", which gets on my nerves. Maybe it was the type of game that was being played, but Pat Hughes had me dozing often. And Hughes has a very annoying habit of asking Ron to "have a look at this" while they look at replays we can't see.

I have to admit I laughed when Santo started yelling at some guy who unfurled a big sign blocking his view.

Hughes did get excited when Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto hit an inside-the-park home-run. That was the big blow for the Cubs. Lilly was solid, but not dominant. He got the win and allowed 2 ER in 5 1/3. He did a great job on Berkman. Lieber and Marmol were strong in relief.

In the bottom of the 4th Jim Edmonds made a "circus catch" on the hill in center field. (You can see it here. It's good, but not as good as the one Beltran made, was that last year?) This was just after he had had trouble running the bases after he fouled a ball off his foot. I thought he was finished when San Diego let him go, but if he can provide a half way decent bat, his defense and leadership in CF for the Cubs will be huge.

The Cubs have only 9 home games in September.

I liked the 8th inning discussion on ballplayers' autographs. Santo can't understand why today's players have illegible autographs. When he was playing "we wanted everybody to know who we were".