Thursday, May 26, 2005
Mets 12, Marlins 4
You see what happens when you move David Wright up in the lineup? The Mets' best hitter got elevated to the sixth spot for this game and the result was instant offense. Just imagine what would happen if he hit fifth! The consequences of his hitting any higher than that are perhaps too much to contemplate. But if tonight's game taught us anything, it's that moving David Wright toward the top of the lineup equals runs.
Now, Wright himself only went two for four with two singles, a walk, a run and two RBI. He did not have the best game among the Mets' starters, all nine of whom had at least one hit and seven of whom drew a walk. But his presence in a more just spot in the lineup clearly had a positive effect on the entire team, as even the coldest hitters on the team managed to get on base. Cliff Floyd had a double and a walk, as did Eric Valent. Doug Mientkiewicz had a single and though he did hit two of his patented double play balls to the second baseman, one of them resulted in a two-run error instead of his customary rally-killer. The power of the Mets' young catalyst seems to know no bounds.
But on a night when the team leading the National League in home runs scored twelve times entirely on balls that stayed in the park, the real stars of the show were at the top of the lineup. Jose Reyes, now and forever the Mets' leadoff hitter, had an excellent game. Not only did he draw his sixth walk of the season, but he smacked his sixth and seventh triples of the year as well. The first was a grounder down the first base line on which he just kept running, but the second was a long drive to the wall in center that showed off both speed and power. Reyes drove in three runs and scored two more. Miguel Cairo hit second again and had two singles and a walk. But the other offensive force for the Mets was Mike Cameron, who hit third and went three for five with two doubles and a walk. He also had three RBI and scored a pair.
The Mets got pretty solid pitching as well. Kris Benson's final line isn't awe-inspiring, but given that he compiled it around an eighty-two minute rain delay in the bottom of the first inning, it was a pretty nice game. He wound up pitching six innings on ninety-eight pitches and allowed three runs. He gave up five hits and two walks while striking out four and did allow one home run to Carlos Delgado. Those numbers aren't spectacular, but that does make three straight good starts for Benson, who the Mets really need to step up as a good second starter if they're going to remain competitive despite their stubbornness regarding Kazuhisa Ishii and Victor Zambrano's spots in the rotation.
Willie Randolph's bullpen management was again curious, as he chose to use one of his best relievers to preserve a nine-run lead in the seventh inning. I thought that one of the reasons the Mets released Scott Strickland was so that they could retain Manny Aybar to use as their long man. Well, if you're not going to use your long man up 12-3 after six, when are you going to use him? Of course, given the way Aybar pitched when he did make it into the game, in the ninth, I can see why Randolph might lack confidence in his ability to pitch three innings without allowing nine runs.
So Heath Bell got the call to start the seventh and struck out the first three batters he faced. And, to ensure that the Mets wouldn't have Bell tomorrow if they needed him in a close game, Randolph sent him out to pitch the eighth as well. Just to make sure that everyone realized how dumb this was, Bell struck out two more batters. He did give up a couple of hits, but allowed neither a walk nor a run as he struck out five batters in two innings. At the very least Bell should be the Mets' second most trusted setup man, behind Roberto Hernandez. By the end of the season, he'll likely prove himself to be the best they've got. Using him in a game like this rather than someone like Aybar or Mike DeJean defies common sense. Aybar pitched the ninth and gave up a run on two hits while striking out a measly one batter.
Tomorrow looks like another favorable pitching matchup for the Mets. Pedro Martinez (4-1, 3.14) gets the start after a strong outing on Sunday. The Marlins will counter with Brian Moehler (2-1, 2.13), who really isn't as good as that ERA might lead you to believe. ¶ joe | 11:49 PM |
You see what happens when you move David Wright up in the lineup? The Mets' best hitter got elevated to the sixth spot for this game and the result was instant offense. Just imagine what would happen if he hit fifth! The consequences of his hitting any higher than that are perhaps too much to contemplate. But if tonight's game taught us anything, it's that moving David Wright toward the top of the lineup equals runs.
Now, Wright himself only went two for four with two singles, a walk, a run and two RBI. He did not have the best game among the Mets' starters, all nine of whom had at least one hit and seven of whom drew a walk. But his presence in a more just spot in the lineup clearly had a positive effect on the entire team, as even the coldest hitters on the team managed to get on base. Cliff Floyd had a double and a walk, as did Eric Valent. Doug Mientkiewicz had a single and though he did hit two of his patented double play balls to the second baseman, one of them resulted in a two-run error instead of his customary rally-killer. The power of the Mets' young catalyst seems to know no bounds.
But on a night when the team leading the National League in home runs scored twelve times entirely on balls that stayed in the park, the real stars of the show were at the top of the lineup. Jose Reyes, now and forever the Mets' leadoff hitter, had an excellent game. Not only did he draw his sixth walk of the season, but he smacked his sixth and seventh triples of the year as well. The first was a grounder down the first base line on which he just kept running, but the second was a long drive to the wall in center that showed off both speed and power. Reyes drove in three runs and scored two more. Miguel Cairo hit second again and had two singles and a walk. But the other offensive force for the Mets was Mike Cameron, who hit third and went three for five with two doubles and a walk. He also had three RBI and scored a pair.
The Mets got pretty solid pitching as well. Kris Benson's final line isn't awe-inspiring, but given that he compiled it around an eighty-two minute rain delay in the bottom of the first inning, it was a pretty nice game. He wound up pitching six innings on ninety-eight pitches and allowed three runs. He gave up five hits and two walks while striking out four and did allow one home run to Carlos Delgado. Those numbers aren't spectacular, but that does make three straight good starts for Benson, who the Mets really need to step up as a good second starter if they're going to remain competitive despite their stubbornness regarding Kazuhisa Ishii and Victor Zambrano's spots in the rotation.
Willie Randolph's bullpen management was again curious, as he chose to use one of his best relievers to preserve a nine-run lead in the seventh inning. I thought that one of the reasons the Mets released Scott Strickland was so that they could retain Manny Aybar to use as their long man. Well, if you're not going to use your long man up 12-3 after six, when are you going to use him? Of course, given the way Aybar pitched when he did make it into the game, in the ninth, I can see why Randolph might lack confidence in his ability to pitch three innings without allowing nine runs.
So Heath Bell got the call to start the seventh and struck out the first three batters he faced. And, to ensure that the Mets wouldn't have Bell tomorrow if they needed him in a close game, Randolph sent him out to pitch the eighth as well. Just to make sure that everyone realized how dumb this was, Bell struck out two more batters. He did give up a couple of hits, but allowed neither a walk nor a run as he struck out five batters in two innings. At the very least Bell should be the Mets' second most trusted setup man, behind Roberto Hernandez. By the end of the season, he'll likely prove himself to be the best they've got. Using him in a game like this rather than someone like Aybar or Mike DeJean defies common sense. Aybar pitched the ninth and gave up a run on two hits while striking out a measly one batter.
Tomorrow looks like another favorable pitching matchup for the Mets. Pedro Martinez (4-1, 3.14) gets the start after a strong outing on Sunday. The Marlins will counter with Brian Moehler (2-1, 2.13), who really isn't as good as that ERA might lead you to believe. ¶ joe | 11:49 PM |
