Monday, May 23, 2005
Braves 8, Mets 6
Starting pitching has been a problem for the Mets this year. Pedro Martinez has really been the only pitcher who's managed to both be effective and keep his job. Aaron Heilman and Jae Seo have both looked capable of being solid contributors, but neither of them makes enough money to maintain a spot in the rotation. They can't get a shot because the Mets would rather send out someone like Kazuhisa Ishii, Proven Veteran. Ishii has had a three year major league career throughout which he's basically been either mediocre or crappy. Yet the Mets keep sending him out there as if Rick Peterson fixing what's wrong with him were a likely outcome. Given that what's wrong with him is that he can't throw strikes, that seems overly optimistic to me.
Tonight he came crashing down hard following his latest surprisingly good start. This time he lasted just four innings, though it did take him eighty-four pitches to get through them. He did show slightly more control than fellow incompetent Victor Zambrano did in his last start, as he only walked three batters. Of course, he made up for that oversight by making sure those walks counted. For instance, there was the second inning, when he walked the opposing pitcher. With the bases loaded. Truly that takes a special brand of incompetence. And he compounded his uselessness by not striking anyone out and allowing seven hits. Four of those were for extra bases and they added up to seven runs. Ishii's ERA is now a ghastly 5.59. His K:BB ratio is 16:18 in 29 innings. Now, that's not a lot of innings and Ishii has never been this bad over a full major league season. But Seo got booted down the minors in just 18 innings, and he had an ERA of 2.00. And Heilman got sent to the bullpen after compiling a 4.71 ERA as a starter in 42 innings, and at his best he showed a lot more ability to dominate major league hitters than Ishii ever has this year. Keeping Ishii in the rotation is basically throwing games away given that the Mets have two clearly better options available. Whether it's Willie Randolph, Rick Peterson or Omar Minaya who's responsible for it, it needs to stop if the Mets are going to remain competitive in the National League East.
Speaking of players who are dragging the team down, Doug Mientkiewicz had another terrible night and is now batting a laughable .197. And not only is he getting himself out when he comes to the plate, he's retiring other Mets as well. He came up twice tonight with at least two runners on base and both times grounded into a double play. In the eighth he came to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out and proceeded to ground softly to first base. David Wright tried to take out the shortstop at second base so that Mientkiewicz could reach first safely, but he was ruled out for interference and was subsequently ejected for arguing the call. It was an arguable call, but probably a good one, as Wright was several feet away from the base as he slid at Rafael Furcal. Mientkiewicz's painfully predictable failure left the Mets trailing by two runs. If only he'd been competent enough to just strike out, maybe they'd have been able to tie things up.
The rest of the Mets' offense had a pretty good night. Wright in particular had another terrific game, with a single, double and home run in three at bats and also a bases loaded walk. He did have a throwing error in the second inning, but he continues to amaze with the bat. The twenty-two year old third baseman may already be the best hitter the Mets have, as he's hitting .303/.406/.559 in 145 at bats. There are a lot of things about this team to make one angry, but Wright is unceasingly fun to watch. If he stays healthy, there should be at least one thing to like about the Mets for years to come.
Also having a big game was Mike Cameron, who went three for four with another home run. Jose Reyes had two hits, including a triple. And Chris Woodward went two for four with a home run.
In other news, Scott Strickland is a free agent, as the Mets have chosen not to call him up. Strickland has never quite been an elite reliever and probably wouldn't have made too much of a difference in the Mets' bullpen. Still, it's hard to understand choosing Manny Aybar over him.
Tomorrow doesn't figure to be pretty, as Tom Glavine (3-4, 5.44) takes another crack at his former team. Tim Hudson (4-3, 3.47) will go for the Braves in what doesn't figure to be a close game. Heilman should be available to pitch some long relief. ¶ joe | 11:15 PM |
Starting pitching has been a problem for the Mets this year. Pedro Martinez has really been the only pitcher who's managed to both be effective and keep his job. Aaron Heilman and Jae Seo have both looked capable of being solid contributors, but neither of them makes enough money to maintain a spot in the rotation. They can't get a shot because the Mets would rather send out someone like Kazuhisa Ishii, Proven Veteran. Ishii has had a three year major league career throughout which he's basically been either mediocre or crappy. Yet the Mets keep sending him out there as if Rick Peterson fixing what's wrong with him were a likely outcome. Given that what's wrong with him is that he can't throw strikes, that seems overly optimistic to me.
Tonight he came crashing down hard following his latest surprisingly good start. This time he lasted just four innings, though it did take him eighty-four pitches to get through them. He did show slightly more control than fellow incompetent Victor Zambrano did in his last start, as he only walked three batters. Of course, he made up for that oversight by making sure those walks counted. For instance, there was the second inning, when he walked the opposing pitcher. With the bases loaded. Truly that takes a special brand of incompetence. And he compounded his uselessness by not striking anyone out and allowing seven hits. Four of those were for extra bases and they added up to seven runs. Ishii's ERA is now a ghastly 5.59. His K:BB ratio is 16:18 in 29 innings. Now, that's not a lot of innings and Ishii has never been this bad over a full major league season. But Seo got booted down the minors in just 18 innings, and he had an ERA of 2.00. And Heilman got sent to the bullpen after compiling a 4.71 ERA as a starter in 42 innings, and at his best he showed a lot more ability to dominate major league hitters than Ishii ever has this year. Keeping Ishii in the rotation is basically throwing games away given that the Mets have two clearly better options available. Whether it's Willie Randolph, Rick Peterson or Omar Minaya who's responsible for it, it needs to stop if the Mets are going to remain competitive in the National League East.
Speaking of players who are dragging the team down, Doug Mientkiewicz had another terrible night and is now batting a laughable .197. And not only is he getting himself out when he comes to the plate, he's retiring other Mets as well. He came up twice tonight with at least two runners on base and both times grounded into a double play. In the eighth he came to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out and proceeded to ground softly to first base. David Wright tried to take out the shortstop at second base so that Mientkiewicz could reach first safely, but he was ruled out for interference and was subsequently ejected for arguing the call. It was an arguable call, but probably a good one, as Wright was several feet away from the base as he slid at Rafael Furcal. Mientkiewicz's painfully predictable failure left the Mets trailing by two runs. If only he'd been competent enough to just strike out, maybe they'd have been able to tie things up.
The rest of the Mets' offense had a pretty good night. Wright in particular had another terrific game, with a single, double and home run in three at bats and also a bases loaded walk. He did have a throwing error in the second inning, but he continues to amaze with the bat. The twenty-two year old third baseman may already be the best hitter the Mets have, as he's hitting .303/.406/.559 in 145 at bats. There are a lot of things about this team to make one angry, but Wright is unceasingly fun to watch. If he stays healthy, there should be at least one thing to like about the Mets for years to come.
Also having a big game was Mike Cameron, who went three for four with another home run. Jose Reyes had two hits, including a triple. And Chris Woodward went two for four with a home run.
In other news, Scott Strickland is a free agent, as the Mets have chosen not to call him up. Strickland has never quite been an elite reliever and probably wouldn't have made too much of a difference in the Mets' bullpen. Still, it's hard to understand choosing Manny Aybar over him.
Tomorrow doesn't figure to be pretty, as Tom Glavine (3-4, 5.44) takes another crack at his former team. Tim Hudson (4-3, 3.47) will go for the Braves in what doesn't figure to be a close game. Heilman should be available to pitch some long relief. ¶ joe | 11:15 PM |
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I figure that they let Strickland go because he may have lost some velocity after his injury. If to, they probably would keep that quiet so as not to sabotage Strick. I am only guessing at this, though.
Minky: you can't have a first baseman who is on the interstate. On the other hand, Minky has helped the Mets so much with his glove. He's a smart player, and a real good clubhouse guy. His batting average will rise. They can afford a first baseman who bats in the mid-200s with all of Minky's other intangible advantages.
Minky: you can't have a first baseman who is on the interstate. On the other hand, Minky has helped the Mets so much with his glove. He's a smart player, and a real good clubhouse guy. His batting average will rise. They can afford a first baseman who bats in the mid-200s with all of Minky's other intangible advantages.
# posted by 
: 11:39 AM
: 11:39 AM
I don't know. Mientkiewicz hasn't been worth anything with the bat since 2003. And even when he was good, he only slugged higher than .429 twice in his career. He's only rated as a decent offensive first baseman when he's batted .300 and up. That's certainly not going to happen this year, and in general, Shea Stadium is a pretty poor place for him to try to turn around his offensive slide. He's got some value with the glove, but with the production this team is getting out of second base and shortstop, they could really use a bat at first.
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