Sunday, May 02, 2004
Padres 7, Mets 6
Padres 3, Mets 1
The Mets scored some runs on Friday, putting five on the board in the first inning, thanks in large part to ground-rule doubles by Mike Cameron and Eric Valent. But it wasn't enough for Tyler Yates, as he allowed seven runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out just two through four and one-third innings.
On Saturday, the Mets' offense was back to normal, and so was Al Leiter, with all that that entails. He allowed just one run through five innnings, but it took him 113 pitches to get through those five innings as he walked an absurd seven batters, although one was intentional. Leiter's fellow lefty John Franco was, for some reason, the first reliever to be called on and he allowed a two-run homer to Brian Giles that sealed the Mets' fate.
Now the Mets are 9-15 and need to win today's finale to salvage a split of the last six games of this road trip. There is some hope, as Tom Glavine (3-1, 1.64) will face Ismael Valdez (3-0, 2.42).
One mildly encouraging development to come out of this series has been Art Howe's willingness to stick with Danny Garcia as his starting shortstop, as Garcia has managed five hits in his first thirteen at bats. With Jose Reyes out indefinitely, starting anyone other than Garcia at second makes no sense offensively, defensively or in terms of preparing for the future. But the question then becomes, what happens when Ty Wigginton returns from the DL? The Mets would need to send either a relief pitcher, an outfielder or Garcia to the minors. Sending one of the team's twelve pitchers to the minors might make the most sense, but the only real candidates for demotion are Dan Wheeler and Orber Moreno. While Moreno has struggled somewhat (5.06 ERA, 8:5 K/BB ratio in 10 2/3 innings) it seems a shame that he'd have to get sent back down just because the team is afraid that the absolutely awful Grant Roberts (17.36 ERA, 1:6 K/BB in 4 2/3) might not clear waivers. It's unlikely that an outfielder will make way for Wigginton, as the team will still need either Eric Valent or Jeff Duncan to have five outfielders when Cliff Floyd returns.
So it seems that the team will likely choose between Moreno and Garcia for demotion when Wigginton comes back. I know that asking the team to release Joe McEwing is too much to ask, but what Ricky Gutierrez? If Garcia can handle the job of major league second baseman competently, then what is Gutierrez for, exactly? I asked the same thing when the team got Gutierrez in the first place, but now that the team needs someone to play second base every day for the forseeable future, the excuse of letting Garcia play every day in Norfolk rather than sitting on the bench in the majors doesn't fly. While someone like Grant Roberts might not be an entirely lost cause, Gutierrez is just useless to this team at this point. He can't hit. He can't field. He can't be expected to play a role in the future of this team. While I might be willing to stomach the team sending both Duncan and Valent down and declaring McEwing the fifth outfielder in order to keep Garcia on the roster, I'd much rather see the team show some dedication to its alleged youth movement and keep either Valent or Duncan, keep Garcia and set Gutierrez free in the wild. For a team that talked all winter about getting "younger and more athletic," the Mets basically had to be forced to play Jae Weong Seo at the major league level rather than thirty-six year old Scott Erickson. Another chance to put some action behind their words is approaching. Hopefully they won't screw it up again. ¶ joe | 3:25 PM |
Padres 3, Mets 1
The Mets scored some runs on Friday, putting five on the board in the first inning, thanks in large part to ground-rule doubles by Mike Cameron and Eric Valent. But it wasn't enough for Tyler Yates, as he allowed seven runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out just two through four and one-third innings.
On Saturday, the Mets' offense was back to normal, and so was Al Leiter, with all that that entails. He allowed just one run through five innnings, but it took him 113 pitches to get through those five innings as he walked an absurd seven batters, although one was intentional. Leiter's fellow lefty John Franco was, for some reason, the first reliever to be called on and he allowed a two-run homer to Brian Giles that sealed the Mets' fate.
Now the Mets are 9-15 and need to win today's finale to salvage a split of the last six games of this road trip. There is some hope, as Tom Glavine (3-1, 1.64) will face Ismael Valdez (3-0, 2.42).
One mildly encouraging development to come out of this series has been Art Howe's willingness to stick with Danny Garcia as his starting shortstop, as Garcia has managed five hits in his first thirteen at bats. With Jose Reyes out indefinitely, starting anyone other than Garcia at second makes no sense offensively, defensively or in terms of preparing for the future. But the question then becomes, what happens when Ty Wigginton returns from the DL? The Mets would need to send either a relief pitcher, an outfielder or Garcia to the minors. Sending one of the team's twelve pitchers to the minors might make the most sense, but the only real candidates for demotion are Dan Wheeler and Orber Moreno. While Moreno has struggled somewhat (5.06 ERA, 8:5 K/BB ratio in 10 2/3 innings) it seems a shame that he'd have to get sent back down just because the team is afraid that the absolutely awful Grant Roberts (17.36 ERA, 1:6 K/BB in 4 2/3) might not clear waivers. It's unlikely that an outfielder will make way for Wigginton, as the team will still need either Eric Valent or Jeff Duncan to have five outfielders when Cliff Floyd returns.
So it seems that the team will likely choose between Moreno and Garcia for demotion when Wigginton comes back. I know that asking the team to release Joe McEwing is too much to ask, but what Ricky Gutierrez? If Garcia can handle the job of major league second baseman competently, then what is Gutierrez for, exactly? I asked the same thing when the team got Gutierrez in the first place, but now that the team needs someone to play second base every day for the forseeable future, the excuse of letting Garcia play every day in Norfolk rather than sitting on the bench in the majors doesn't fly. While someone like Grant Roberts might not be an entirely lost cause, Gutierrez is just useless to this team at this point. He can't hit. He can't field. He can't be expected to play a role in the future of this team. While I might be willing to stomach the team sending both Duncan and Valent down and declaring McEwing the fifth outfielder in order to keep Garcia on the roster, I'd much rather see the team show some dedication to its alleged youth movement and keep either Valent or Duncan, keep Garcia and set Gutierrez free in the wild. For a team that talked all winter about getting "younger and more athletic," the Mets basically had to be forced to play Jae Weong Seo at the major league level rather than thirty-six year old Scott Erickson. Another chance to put some action behind their words is approaching. Hopefully they won't screw it up again. ¶ joe | 3:25 PM |
