Cubs 7, Mets 0
Cubs 4, Mets 3

Perhaps counting on Kris Benson to be the savior of the Mets' starting rotation was a little hasty. Having to watch Victor Zambrano and Tom Glavine pitch for weeks can lead to an unusual sort of desperation. And Aaron Heilman gives one hope that a pitcher can turn a corner. But, it appears that Benson may be what he's always been. And that is nothing to get excited about.

Part one of this week's Black Friday double feature was a gentle reminder not to get our hopes up about the former first overall pick. He did last six innings on just eighty-four pitches, which is solid enough in and of itself. And he didn't walk anybody, which is terrific in comparison to some of the Mets' other starters. But he also allowed six runs on ten hits, including a ridiculous four home runs. And he struck out just three batters. The Cubs do currently lead the National League in home runs, but that hardly excuses Benson's performance.

One start won't tell the whole story of a season (or a three-year contract), and Benson will almost certainly get his ERA down from the 6.75 where it currently sits. But this start didn't do much to support the notion that Rick Peterson has worked his magic on Benson. The fact that the Mets only managed three hits in the game, and two of them were from Chris Woodward, did little to ease the pain.

And speaking of Rick Peterson's coaching expertise, Victor Zambrano took the mound on Thursday afternoon with predictable results. Maybe Rick meant "ten long minutes". I suppose Zambrano's allowing only three runs in six innings is a minor triumph, but the fact that this has to be discussed as perhaps the best of his seven starts this season reveals a greater failure. He allowed three in six in his second start of the season, but this time he did allow only three hits, compared to nine in that game. Oddly enough, both times he struck out four and walked four. This time he also hit a batter, balked and threw a wild pitch.

If Victor Zambrano was some twenty-two year old kid just breaking into the majors and pitching like this, he'd be back in AAA. Hell, if he were a twenty-eight year old with a couple of major league seasons under his belt making $1.8 million less, I guess he'd be in the minors, too, regardless of how he was pitching. But since the Devil Rays were dumb enough or desperate enough to keep sending him out there for a few years, he's acquired that "proven veteran" glow and the contract to match. Right now he's not only pitching worse than he was before Peterson got his hands on him, he's pitching worse than other available options that the Mets have under contract. He's below "replacement level" in the most concrete sense imaginable. Continuing to send him out there when he can't or won't get his shit together is either ego or stupidity.

The Mets did manage to score some runs in this game, though they certainly took their sweet time in doing so. Victor Diaz plated a pair in the second inning with a bases loaded double. But it wasn't until the ninth that the Mets matched the third run the Cubs had scored. Eric Valent came off the bench with only his second pinch hit of the season to drive home Doug Mientkiewicz.

With the game tied, Willie Randolph once again called on Mike DeJean to pitch the bottom of the ninth, apparently choosing reverence for the save rule over common sense. With Braden Looper watching from the bullpen, DeJean allowed a bunt single and a walk to the first two hitters before finally retiring someone. Dae-Sung Koo then entered and walked lefty Corey Patterson to load the bases. Heath Bell had to be called upon to save these two guys' asses, because presumably bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game isn't an important enough situation to use your nominal ace reliever. Bell did get out of the jam, though, inducing Neifi Perez to reveal his true self and ground into a 1-2-3 double play.

Bell wasn't so effective to start the tenth, though, as Derrek Lee led off the inning and took the eleventh pitch out of the park to end it. The wind had been knocking down long fly balls all day, but Lee was able to break through against Bell and win the game and the series for the Cubs. Heath Bell has been good, though not great, for the Mets so far this year, but this time he couldn't get it done.

The Mets take Thursday off before starting a nine game homestand. First up will be the defending League Champion Cardinals. Tom Glavine (1-4, 6.87) will head out first to serve up batting practice for the Champs. Jason Marquis (5-1, 3.26) will likely have a very impressive 6-1 record by the end of the night  ¶ joe | 11:00 PM |