OK, losing two of three to the Braves is not what I or any other Mets fan hoped for this weekend. Friday was basically a no-contest, as Mike Pelfrey did not have it at all. Five innings, 4 runs, six hits, two walks and a HBP. Disappointing to say the least, but, given it was only his second start of the year, I am willing to give him a little more time. Tim Hudson owned the Mets that night, 8 innings, 5 hits, 4 hitless innings to start the game. The Mets dinged the pen for 3 in the ninth, but it was way too little too late. After Pelfrey, Pedro Dos gave up 3 runs, though two of those scored on a bases loaded walk and a WP by Burgos.
Saturday was a beautiful day for baseball, and a great performance by Oliver Perez. O Pea went 6 2/3, giving up 2 ER, on 9 hits with 9 strikeouts and NO WALKS. He threw 20 strikes in a row at one point. That is the O Pea the Mets are going to need this year. The bats came alive, Beltran and Reyes combined for 7 hits, Castro and Easley went deep, as did Reyes. After Perez, The Show, Smith, Heilman and Wagner finished it up. The series was even, and we had Glavine vs Smoltz on deck for yesterday. It promised to be a pitchers duel, as it was a couple of weeks ago. It was not.
The Mets for once got to Smoltz, hanging 6 on him in 5 2/3 on 9 hits. Shawn Green hit his second homer of the weekend. Jose Jose Jose had a 3 run triple to knock Smoltz out. Things looked good. Then, the pen blew it.
Burgos started off the top of the 7th with two quick outs on a grounder and a pop out. He then gave up a long double, as Shawn Green misplayed the ball in right. Burgos was pulled to allow lefty The Show to face Kelli Johnson, who he proceeded to walk. This is where some are questioning Willie. The next batter was Reneteria, a righty. The book says to put in a righty to face him. Willie stuck with him, feeling this would turn Chipper around to the right side, even if Renteria got on base. Well, he didn't get on base, he smacked a three run home run, and the game was tied. Now, you can say Willie should have pulled The Show, because of what the book said. Willie went with his gut, and some are beating him up for it. If you feel that way, I have a question for you: Do you track when Willie's gut works? Or do you just track when it doesn't work out? Because let me tell you something, the man managed the team last year to a division title, and to within one strike of being in the WS. So far this year, they are 11-6, and are .5 games behind the Braves. Are you saying Willie had nothing to do with any of the wins? Because that is what this smells like to me.
A manager plays with his gut, I don't care who it is. Even Bobby V, the genius, went with his gut. Even when a guy goes by the book, he is going by his gut that the book is going to work in that moment. The whole damn job is going with your gut. The bottom line is this, Green misplayed the ball, that led to the inning. Yes, The Show stank up the joint, but you know what, there is going to be a time when he comes into a tight spot and nails it down. Maybe not tonight, or this week, but it will happen. All pitchers have off days. All hitters do as well. Heck, a couple of weeks ago, we didn't want Joe Smith in a tight spot, now we all clamor for him. Guess what, he is going to get touched up at some point. It happens to everyone. Wagner will blow a couple of games. Heilman already has (let's not forget, he gave up the game winner yesterday. Willie's gut told him that Aaron was the right guy in that spot as well. But since Aaron has a track record, we let that slide.) Pedro Dos had a bad outing the other night, but I am not afraid to see him in there tonight. The pen was due for a shitty outing. It happened. It is not Willie's fault they did not execute.
They will need more than just Pedro Dos, Heilman and Smith coming out of the pen. If they are relied on too much, they will be done by May. The Show will get it right. Burgos is doing better. Let's not be so quick to blame Willie for all that ails the Mets, when we do not give him credit when his moves pay off. Have we all forgotten last season, and Jose Valentin? We were all killing Willie, yet 'Stache became an integral part of the team. Even Jorge Julio had turned it around before he was traded for El Duque. Patience is called for. Shit, they are 11-6, not 6-11.
My concern now is the bats of Delgado and Wright. Both are too talented to slump for much longer. Delgado is still compensating for his missed ST time methinks, and has had some good hacks of late. As for Wright, maybe now that the streak is done, David will press a little less. He is very out of synch, he is pulling off, as Keith stated. He needs to get in the cage and work on hitting the ball the other way. I find it interesting that some fans are jumping off his bandwagon already. Go ahead. Jump off. But do me this favor, don't jump back on when he gets hot. I am sick and tired of fans who are so quick to kill Met players. Tell me this, if Jose slumps, are you going to do the same thing? Support your team. I'm not saying don't get pissed when they lose, because I do the same. Just realize that odds are they are going to lose 65 games or so. Trying to live and die by every game is going to do nothing for your enjoyment of the game. Killing your players is not helping either.
It sucks losing 2 of three to the Braves. They are playing good baseball right now. The Mets are as well, even with two of their big bats slumping and their bullpen in flux. Hang in there a bit longer fans.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I agree with most of what you say, Ed. Except Schoeneweis. He's not going to get better. This is what he is: a bad pitcher.
But Willie, while not a great game manager, has earned enough not to get second guessed every game. He's excellent in other areas, and he's improving in his game management. He's off the hook at this point in my eyes.
Post a Comment