Friday, April 23, 2004
Cubs 3, Mets 1
The Mets offense isn't this bad. It's not. Don't get me wrong, it's bad. Without Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd in the lineup, it's one of the worst in the league. Not the absolute worst (bonjour, Montreal!), but one of the worst. Still, it's not this bad. It's not "scoring two runs is a moreal victory" bad. It's not "Shane Spencer is one of our three best hitters" bad. It's not "we need a shutout from our pitchers to get a win" bad. One year wonder or not, Jason Phillips is more than capable of hitting over .200 at the major league level. Mike Cameron is not the new Roberto Alomar. Mike Piazza has not hit his last major league home run. No matter how Art Howe arranges his lineup, there is enough offensive talent currently on the Mets' major league roster to win a game in which their pitcher limits the opposition to three runs.
But none of that was apparent from today's performance, in which Jae Weong Seo (0-3, 6.60) rebounded to give the Mets a decent outing. It wasn't the prettiest line in the box score, as he allowed two home runs and walked three while striking out three through six innings. But he also held the Cubs to just three runs in the losing effort.
Kazuo Matsui got back on track somewhat, as he doubled off the wall and reached on a bunt single over the head of pitcher Greg Maddux. And Mike Cameron accounted for the Mets' run with a home run in four at bats, his third of the season. But aside from another nice game from Shane Spencer (three singles and a stolen base), that was about it for the Mets, who managed just eight hits and one walk in 34 at bats.
Although Orber Moreno seems to have vanished off the face of the roster, the Mets got solid bullpen work in support of Seo, as both Mike Stanon and David Weathers pitched an inning, walking one and striking out one while allowing no hits or runs. But as has become routine, solid pitching wasn't enough to get the Mets anywhere, and the team fell to 7-10 on the season.
Tomorrow's not likely to be the day the Mets' bats get going, as Kerry Wood (2-1, 3.48) will go for the Cubs. The Mets' lone hope for victory seems to be Tyler Yates (1-1, 3.86) holding the Cubs scoreless long enough for Wood's arm to fall off from overwork. If the Mets can get Wood up to around 140 pitches or so, which would take about 14 innings given the Mets' recent plate discpline, without the Cubs getting on the board, they might have a shot. More likely, it'll be another fine pitchers' duel tomorrow with the Mets coming out on the short end. ¶ joe | 9:32 PM |
The Mets offense isn't this bad. It's not. Don't get me wrong, it's bad. Without Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd in the lineup, it's one of the worst in the league. Not the absolute worst (bonjour, Montreal!), but one of the worst. Still, it's not this bad. It's not "scoring two runs is a moreal victory" bad. It's not "Shane Spencer is one of our three best hitters" bad. It's not "we need a shutout from our pitchers to get a win" bad. One year wonder or not, Jason Phillips is more than capable of hitting over .200 at the major league level. Mike Cameron is not the new Roberto Alomar. Mike Piazza has not hit his last major league home run. No matter how Art Howe arranges his lineup, there is enough offensive talent currently on the Mets' major league roster to win a game in which their pitcher limits the opposition to three runs.
But none of that was apparent from today's performance, in which Jae Weong Seo (0-3, 6.60) rebounded to give the Mets a decent outing. It wasn't the prettiest line in the box score, as he allowed two home runs and walked three while striking out three through six innings. But he also held the Cubs to just three runs in the losing effort.
Kazuo Matsui got back on track somewhat, as he doubled off the wall and reached on a bunt single over the head of pitcher Greg Maddux. And Mike Cameron accounted for the Mets' run with a home run in four at bats, his third of the season. But aside from another nice game from Shane Spencer (three singles and a stolen base), that was about it for the Mets, who managed just eight hits and one walk in 34 at bats.
Although Orber Moreno seems to have vanished off the face of the roster, the Mets got solid bullpen work in support of Seo, as both Mike Stanon and David Weathers pitched an inning, walking one and striking out one while allowing no hits or runs. But as has become routine, solid pitching wasn't enough to get the Mets anywhere, and the team fell to 7-10 on the season.
Tomorrow's not likely to be the day the Mets' bats get going, as Kerry Wood (2-1, 3.48) will go for the Cubs. The Mets' lone hope for victory seems to be Tyler Yates (1-1, 3.86) holding the Cubs scoreless long enough for Wood's arm to fall off from overwork. If the Mets can get Wood up to around 140 pitches or so, which would take about 14 innings given the Mets' recent plate discpline, without the Cubs getting on the board, they might have a shot. More likely, it'll be another fine pitchers' duel tomorrow with the Mets coming out on the short end. ¶ joe | 9:32 PM |
