I've got good news for some, bad news for some others, and awful news for all of us.
The awful news as you might expect is that Pedro was shelled last night. It appears that he is not going to be able to go in the first round at the least. Unless something changes in the short term, he may not be available at all in the playoffs.
The bad news is that Steve Trachsel is guaranteed a spot in the rotation for the playoffs, as Willie stated prior to last nights game. This is bad news for only the portion of Met fans who hoped he would be left off of the roster.
The good news is also for a portion of the fan base. At this point, it appears that John Maine is poised to get a start in the first round, assuming the series goes at least 4 games.
What can I say about last night? I can't gloss over how awful Pedro looked. He was struggling. While he hit the mid 80's with his fastball, his breaking stuff was up and hanging. I had hoped that last night would see further progress in his rehab, but we did not. At this point, there appears to be very little chance of Pedro pitching in the first round. He cannot be counted on to get the job done. Pedro has made fools out of people who counted him out in the past, and I hope that will be the case here, but his own words cast doubt on that being possible. Willie said after the game that Pedro said he could not get the calf loose. We all know that a pitcher needs to be able to use his legs, especially a slight guy like Pedro, who does not have bulk to help compensate for an inability to push off.
So the rotation for the first round appears to be this
Game 1 - El Duque
Game 2 - Glavine
Game 3 - Trax
Game 4 - Maine
Really, what other option is there besides Maine? Dave Williams did a nice job, but he is too similar to the other starters, in other words, a junk-ball pitcher. Mike Pelfrey is not ready. Oliver Perez, no chance in hell. So that leaves Maine.
Maine can now prove all those who doubted the trade of this guy for him and Jorge Julio wrong. He has had his ups and downs, but now is his time to shine. He had a few good starts, and I think he has the skills to get the job done again. Mr. Maine, sit down with The Jacket. Sit down with the other starters who have been to the playoffs before. Find out what it will be like. This is your chance to not only remove the trade from people's memories, but to solidify your spot in the rotation next year. Not only that, you have the chance to go down in Met lore as a winning playoff pitcher.
Other notes from last night - nice to see Delgado take the ball the other way against the shift. He may not have done it on purpose, but he did it. Do it a couple of more times, and teams may rethink the overshift, making your life easier. Humber and Bannister pitched well in an inning apiece.
As for the rest of the lineup, they should be embarressed. The whole team should be. Giving up 25 runs to the Braves is unacceptable. This is a team that had a poor year, lost their hold on the division, but is still treating the Mets like a minor league team. Larry Jones, who is playing hurt, showed drive last night, taking out Jose Valentin on a possible double play. Now, I hate Larry, but I respect his drive. I want to see that drive from this team. A few weeks ago, we were lauding Willie for his ability to have the team play hard, even though the division was all but wrapped up. We are not hearing any of that now. Thinking they can turn it on once October 3 comes is foolhardy. I know, there are teams that have had big winning streaks at the end of the season who have failed in the playoffs, and teams who skidded at the end who did well. Those are exceptions. For the most part, teams who have played well coming into the playoffs continue to play well once they begin.
Rest time is over. Time to play hard and get ready for next week. Get some revenge tonight for the pastings over the past couple of days. At the start of the season, I stated that winning 6 of every 10 would be enough for 96 wins and a playoff spot. . They got the playoff spot, but the 96 wins appears out of reach at this point.
This may sound defeatist, but it is not. It is concern, concern which is justified by poor play over the past couple of weeks. I know this team has the talent to do well in the playoffs, even without Pedro. I just want to see it happen.
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5 comments:
That rotation is just as good (or bad) as the rotation that earned 90 wins thru the first 145 games.
Beltran & Wright need to show up. Not that singles hitter and the gimpy guy looking for the walk we've been seeing.
Agreed, Ed, agreed on all counts. I read somewhere that the team is playing as though they are "afraid" - what the "fear" actually is, can be in the eyes of the beholder. Is it prep for the postseason? Is it fear of getting hurt (knock wood)? Is it fear of Pedro not starting and being our crutch? I don't know. But all I know is - I hear ya on the hating the man, but respecting Larry Fine's drive. His team is out, this game means nothing to them, but he still plays to win. If anything, remember back in the day when we would be playing just for a Wild Card shot, the Braves would have already clinched the east, but still kick our butts into next week to be spoiler? This team (I mean the Mets) don't have that. Why? A few months ago, they came, they saw, the kicked ass. I dare say, the turning point of the season was Dirty Sanchez's accident. After that, the team just wasn't "right," and it had nothing to do with losing X Nady, we did fine without him, I think. But call it what you will, how Pedro is our emotional crutch, Dirty was kind of the oddball, the Turk Wendell type of guy who could get the crowd rolling. This team, the way they are playing now, is NOT a playoff contender, let along winner of the first round. Hate to sound pessimistic, but they are unwatchable right now.
Mike - The bats are the key. THe pitching will be OK, but has question marks. But looking at the lineup the past month, these guys are not giving me warm fuzzies.
denizen - I don't see what is going on with Pedro as coddling. Look, they are better with him. That is a fact. They needed to find out if they will have him. Looks like they will not.
I agree, he is out for the 1st round. Maine is the Man now. Say it loud and clear Willie, then the questions will end.
Someone should call a meeting. Time to get medieval on some asses. Captain Red Ass is probably the right guy to do it.
Ed, I actually got nervous about the possibility of facing Pettite, Clemens and Oswalt in the playoffs when I heard Pedro is done.
But "you gotta beleive" as the Mets faithful always say.
PS: No sweat in adding our J-E-T-S, Blog blog blog link to our Jets Blog. I will have my IT guy add yours to ours. All the contributing writers on our blog are all Mets fans.
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