Monday, April 19, 2004
Pirates 8, Mets 1
If there's anything that can kill the early-season optimism surrounding a team more quickly than getting swept at home by the Pirates, I don't want to know about it. In the first two games of this series the Mets got good starting pitching performances but couldn't get the win for one reason or another. In game two that reason was a lack of offense, and that carried over into Sunday's game as well. After a hot start to the season, Mike Piazza has gone cold, reaching base just twice in twelve plate appearances during this series. Jason Phillips has similarly slumped, going hitless in seven at bats in this series, dropping his batting average to a McEwingesque .179. With a couple of the team's key offensive cogs on the shelf, that's left the job of putting runs on the board to Kazuo Matsui and Mike Cameron, and even Cameron had just one walk as the Mets scored two runs in the last two games of this series. The reality of life without Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd is beginning to sink in, while Art Howe seems intent on construcing lineups designed to display exactly what the Mets' offense is lacking.
Meanwhile, after two solid relief outings, Jae Weong Seo got the start for the first time this season on Sunday and got knocked around like it was Spring Training. Through just four and one-third innigs, he allowed ten hits, including a home run, and two walks while striking out two, which added up to seven runs for the Pirates. The bullpen did a pretty good job picking him up, but by the time he left the damage had been done. Still, Grant Roberts managed to pitch two whole innings without allowing a run, though he did allow three hits and a walk, and Mike Stanton also provided a scoreless inning. Their ERAs have now dropped to 17.36 and 11.57, respectively.
Still, as I began writing this, the Red Sox were finishing off the Yankees, and the Expos, losers of seven straight are coming to town to take on the Mets. Not all is going wrong in the world of baseball and the Mets have a good opportunity to get back on track tonight. Tyler Yates (0-1, 5.40) will get the start in better weather than he experienced in his last rocky start and will be opposed by Tomo Ohka (0-2, 5.59), who's apparently off to something of a rough start himself. ¶ joe | 2:19 PM |
If there's anything that can kill the early-season optimism surrounding a team more quickly than getting swept at home by the Pirates, I don't want to know about it. In the first two games of this series the Mets got good starting pitching performances but couldn't get the win for one reason or another. In game two that reason was a lack of offense, and that carried over into Sunday's game as well. After a hot start to the season, Mike Piazza has gone cold, reaching base just twice in twelve plate appearances during this series. Jason Phillips has similarly slumped, going hitless in seven at bats in this series, dropping his batting average to a McEwingesque .179. With a couple of the team's key offensive cogs on the shelf, that's left the job of putting runs on the board to Kazuo Matsui and Mike Cameron, and even Cameron had just one walk as the Mets scored two runs in the last two games of this series. The reality of life without Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd is beginning to sink in, while Art Howe seems intent on construcing lineups designed to display exactly what the Mets' offense is lacking.
Meanwhile, after two solid relief outings, Jae Weong Seo got the start for the first time this season on Sunday and got knocked around like it was Spring Training. Through just four and one-third innigs, he allowed ten hits, including a home run, and two walks while striking out two, which added up to seven runs for the Pirates. The bullpen did a pretty good job picking him up, but by the time he left the damage had been done. Still, Grant Roberts managed to pitch two whole innings without allowing a run, though he did allow three hits and a walk, and Mike Stanton also provided a scoreless inning. Their ERAs have now dropped to 17.36 and 11.57, respectively.
Still, as I began writing this, the Red Sox were finishing off the Yankees, and the Expos, losers of seven straight are coming to town to take on the Mets. Not all is going wrong in the world of baseball and the Mets have a good opportunity to get back on track tonight. Tyler Yates (0-1, 5.40) will get the start in better weather than he experienced in his last rocky start and will be opposed by Tomo Ohka (0-2, 5.59), who's apparently off to something of a rough start himself. ¶ joe | 2:19 PM |
