Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Mets 7, Braves 2
The first game of the New York Mets' season wound up answering some important questions in an encouraging fashion, and yet, the first question I had when the game began was, what the hell is Art Howe thinking batting Ricky Gutierrez second? Maybe Howe got so used to the idea of batting his second baseman second that he was incapable of adjusting when Jose Reyes went down. Still, Gutierrez is, at best, the third-worst hitter in the Mets' lineup and choosing him to bat second ahead of Mike Cameron or Jason Phillips boggles the mind.
But such petty concerns were allayed quickly when Kazuo Matsui shrugged off a spring of offensive struggles to send Russ Ortiz's first pitch of the season over the wall in straightaway center. Matsui's debut was nothing short of spectacular, as he wound up 3 for 3 with the home run, a pair of doubles, and two walks, one of which was intentional. That the Braves felt the need to walk Matsui with runners on second and third when he came to bat for the fifth time was impressive, but of course, Ricky Gutierrez was hitting behind him, so they didn't have a lot to lose. Still, along with his power and speed, Matsui impressed me with his patience, not at all resembling the hacker portrayed by his Japanese stats. While the Atlanta pitching was far from dominant, with Ortiz leaving after recording just seven outs, it was very encouraging to see Matsui willing to take a walk even with the bases loaded while not striking out once in the game.
The other big story was of course Tom Glavine, trying for the fifth time to pitch against his former team without embarrassing himself. He wasn't dominant, and Marcus Giles' first inning home run had me fearing the worst, but Glavine settled down in a hurry, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out two. There were plenty of balls hit hard to the outfield, but the defense helped Glavine out with Mike Cameron ranging from gap to gap with ease and Karim Garcia making a couple of nice sliding catches in right.
There was plenty of offense to go around for the Mets as every starter but Cliff Floyd got on base. Jason Phillips doubled twice and walked twice, Cameron walked, singled and stole a base, and Mike Piazza inched closer to Carlton Fisk with a solo homer in the third.
This first game could hardly have gone better for the Mets as the offense looked formidable even without Jose Reyes in the lineup and the pitching and defense got the job done as well. The team still has a long way to go to prove they can hang with the best of the East, but last night was a complete turnaround from the disastrous opening day of a year ago, and we can only hope that this season stays as true to its first day as last year's did.
Tonight, Steve Trachsel (16-10, 3.78 in 2003), new contract in hand, takes on former Met mercenary Mike Hampton (14-8, 3.84). ¶ joe | 3:14 PM |
The first game of the New York Mets' season wound up answering some important questions in an encouraging fashion, and yet, the first question I had when the game began was, what the hell is Art Howe thinking batting Ricky Gutierrez second? Maybe Howe got so used to the idea of batting his second baseman second that he was incapable of adjusting when Jose Reyes went down. Still, Gutierrez is, at best, the third-worst hitter in the Mets' lineup and choosing him to bat second ahead of Mike Cameron or Jason Phillips boggles the mind.
But such petty concerns were allayed quickly when Kazuo Matsui shrugged off a spring of offensive struggles to send Russ Ortiz's first pitch of the season over the wall in straightaway center. Matsui's debut was nothing short of spectacular, as he wound up 3 for 3 with the home run, a pair of doubles, and two walks, one of which was intentional. That the Braves felt the need to walk Matsui with runners on second and third when he came to bat for the fifth time was impressive, but of course, Ricky Gutierrez was hitting behind him, so they didn't have a lot to lose. Still, along with his power and speed, Matsui impressed me with his patience, not at all resembling the hacker portrayed by his Japanese stats. While the Atlanta pitching was far from dominant, with Ortiz leaving after recording just seven outs, it was very encouraging to see Matsui willing to take a walk even with the bases loaded while not striking out once in the game.
The other big story was of course Tom Glavine, trying for the fifth time to pitch against his former team without embarrassing himself. He wasn't dominant, and Marcus Giles' first inning home run had me fearing the worst, but Glavine settled down in a hurry, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out two. There were plenty of balls hit hard to the outfield, but the defense helped Glavine out with Mike Cameron ranging from gap to gap with ease and Karim Garcia making a couple of nice sliding catches in right.
There was plenty of offense to go around for the Mets as every starter but Cliff Floyd got on base. Jason Phillips doubled twice and walked twice, Cameron walked, singled and stole a base, and Mike Piazza inched closer to Carlton Fisk with a solo homer in the third.
This first game could hardly have gone better for the Mets as the offense looked formidable even without Jose Reyes in the lineup and the pitching and defense got the job done as well. The team still has a long way to go to prove they can hang with the best of the East, but last night was a complete turnaround from the disastrous opening day of a year ago, and we can only hope that this season stays as true to its first day as last year's did.
Tonight, Steve Trachsel (16-10, 3.78 in 2003), new contract in hand, takes on former Met mercenary Mike Hampton (14-8, 3.84). ¶ joe | 3:14 PM |
