Monday, June 07, 2004
Marlins 5, Mets 1
Marlins 7, Mets 6
Mets 5, Marlins 2
The Mets' weekend went pretty much the same way the whole season has gone, with its encouraging highs, disheartening lows and the feeling that things might have gone a little bit better if someone else had been managing. On Friday, they just didn't enough hitting or pitching. Steve Trachsel, for the second consecutive start against Florida, gave the Mets a rare subpar starting pitching performance and the offense could only put one run on the board. Trachsel went five and one-third innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out none. He also left the game with runners on first and third, but since the Mets were already trailing by three runs, Orber Moreno got a chance to pitch and got out of the inning recording the last two outs without allowing a run to score. Moreno pitched another scoreless inning and allowed just one walk while striking out one. Cliff Floyd's first inning solo home run provided the only run for the Mets as their four game winning streak came to an end.
On Saturday, neither the offense nor the starting pitching was the problem, but Art Howe still found a way to lose the game. Matt Ginter turned in another solid performance, going six innings, allowing just two runs one six hits and one walk while striking out three. And the offense, powered by three-hit games by Ty Wigginton and Todd Zeile and a pair of home runs by Mike Piazza, put six on the board, which you would think more than enough to support Ginter's fine effort.
Ginter left up 5-2 in favor of Ricky Bottalico, who allowed two of the first three runners to reach. Jack McKeon tired to give Art Howe a way out of it, bringing up Lenny Harris to hit, but Art wanted none of that, bringing in Mike Stanton to pitch, which of course led McKeon to remove the inept lefty Harris. As if to drive the point home, Damion Easley homered off of Stanton, the second game-tying three-run home run he allowed last week. That particular managing decision wasn't quite as baffling as what happened in the ninth, though. After David Weathers allowed a run in the eighth and got the first out of the ninth, John Franco got an out and allowed a triple. So trailing by one run in the ninth with a runner on third and two outs, who does Howe bring in to face Mike Lowell, the best hitter in the Marlins' lineup? His best reliever, Braden Looper? His other effective righty, Orber Moreno? Nah, he brings in Dan Wheeler, who had allowed eight of ten inherited runners to score prior to Saturday. And as everyone but Howe could have predicted, Lowell smacked a double to give Florida a two-run cushion. So when Mike Piazza took Armando Benitez deep to lead off the ninth, all it did was make the game look a little closer in the box score. Art Howe's maddening obsession with guys like Stanton and Weathers may cost the Mets a game every now and then, but at least you can understand his reasoning. The number three at the front of their age column gives them instant credibility in Howe's eyes, and no matter how many games they might blow, they'll still have his confidence. But that just makes Howe's decision to go with the ineffective twenty-six year old Wheeler in such a tight spot even more baffling. That move doesn't even make sense in wacky Art Howe Land.
Howe's bullpen use didn't make a lot of sense on Sunday either, but the Mets did manage to get enough offense and starting pitching that it didn't wind up mattering. Al Leiter had his kind of game, going five and two-thirds scoreless, allowing just two hits and walking an absurd six batters while striking out five. The one hundred fourteen pitch performance dropped Leiter's ERA to 1.98, but your really have to wonder how long he can keep this up walking so many people. Eventually some of them are going to score, aren't they? Mike Piazza once again did all he could with his bat to keep the Mets on top, and this time it held up as he drove in four runs with a double and a third home run, his thirteenth of the season. David Weathers had a solid two and one-third innings in relief of Leiter, as he allowed three hits and struck out one. But apparently holding a five run lead is a more critical situation than trailing by one run in Howe's eyes, as he felt the need to bring in Looper, not Moreno, to finish off the game. Looper had a rough inning, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out one, but did manage to finish things off and preserve the win.
Six up and six down on this twelve-game stretch seems disappointing given how close so many of the Florida games were and how well things went against the Phillies. But .500 in June isn't so bad and neither is three and a half games out of first coming up on a couple of series against weaker AL Central opponents. The Mets managed to hang with the class of the division, now they have to beat up on some scrubs to get some breathing room between themselves and the break-even mark. ¶ joe | 2:01 PM |
Marlins 7, Mets 6
Mets 5, Marlins 2
The Mets' weekend went pretty much the same way the whole season has gone, with its encouraging highs, disheartening lows and the feeling that things might have gone a little bit better if someone else had been managing. On Friday, they just didn't enough hitting or pitching. Steve Trachsel, for the second consecutive start against Florida, gave the Mets a rare subpar starting pitching performance and the offense could only put one run on the board. Trachsel went five and one-third innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out none. He also left the game with runners on first and third, but since the Mets were already trailing by three runs, Orber Moreno got a chance to pitch and got out of the inning recording the last two outs without allowing a run to score. Moreno pitched another scoreless inning and allowed just one walk while striking out one. Cliff Floyd's first inning solo home run provided the only run for the Mets as their four game winning streak came to an end.
On Saturday, neither the offense nor the starting pitching was the problem, but Art Howe still found a way to lose the game. Matt Ginter turned in another solid performance, going six innings, allowing just two runs one six hits and one walk while striking out three. And the offense, powered by three-hit games by Ty Wigginton and Todd Zeile and a pair of home runs by Mike Piazza, put six on the board, which you would think more than enough to support Ginter's fine effort.
Ginter left up 5-2 in favor of Ricky Bottalico, who allowed two of the first three runners to reach. Jack McKeon tired to give Art Howe a way out of it, bringing up Lenny Harris to hit, but Art wanted none of that, bringing in Mike Stanton to pitch, which of course led McKeon to remove the inept lefty Harris. As if to drive the point home, Damion Easley homered off of Stanton, the second game-tying three-run home run he allowed last week. That particular managing decision wasn't quite as baffling as what happened in the ninth, though. After David Weathers allowed a run in the eighth and got the first out of the ninth, John Franco got an out and allowed a triple. So trailing by one run in the ninth with a runner on third and two outs, who does Howe bring in to face Mike Lowell, the best hitter in the Marlins' lineup? His best reliever, Braden Looper? His other effective righty, Orber Moreno? Nah, he brings in Dan Wheeler, who had allowed eight of ten inherited runners to score prior to Saturday. And as everyone but Howe could have predicted, Lowell smacked a double to give Florida a two-run cushion. So when Mike Piazza took Armando Benitez deep to lead off the ninth, all it did was make the game look a little closer in the box score. Art Howe's maddening obsession with guys like Stanton and Weathers may cost the Mets a game every now and then, but at least you can understand his reasoning. The number three at the front of their age column gives them instant credibility in Howe's eyes, and no matter how many games they might blow, they'll still have his confidence. But that just makes Howe's decision to go with the ineffective twenty-six year old Wheeler in such a tight spot even more baffling. That move doesn't even make sense in wacky Art Howe Land.
Howe's bullpen use didn't make a lot of sense on Sunday either, but the Mets did manage to get enough offense and starting pitching that it didn't wind up mattering. Al Leiter had his kind of game, going five and two-thirds scoreless, allowing just two hits and walking an absurd six batters while striking out five. The one hundred fourteen pitch performance dropped Leiter's ERA to 1.98, but your really have to wonder how long he can keep this up walking so many people. Eventually some of them are going to score, aren't they? Mike Piazza once again did all he could with his bat to keep the Mets on top, and this time it held up as he drove in four runs with a double and a third home run, his thirteenth of the season. David Weathers had a solid two and one-third innings in relief of Leiter, as he allowed three hits and struck out one. But apparently holding a five run lead is a more critical situation than trailing by one run in Howe's eyes, as he felt the need to bring in Looper, not Moreno, to finish off the game. Looper had a rough inning, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out one, but did manage to finish things off and preserve the win.
Six up and six down on this twelve-game stretch seems disappointing given how close so many of the Florida games were and how well things went against the Phillies. But .500 in June isn't so bad and neither is three and a half games out of first coming up on a couple of series against weaker AL Central opponents. The Mets managed to hang with the class of the division, now they have to beat up on some scrubs to get some breathing room between themselves and the break-even mark. ¶ joe | 2:01 PM |
