Thursday, May 19, 2005
Mets 2, Reds 1
Mets 10, Reds 6
Kazuo Matsui's dreadful start to the season has been well-documented. Prior to Tuesday he was hitting an abysmal .234/.281/.313 and receiving a commensurate reaction from Mets fans at Shea Stadium and on the internet. I had not yet brought myself to dislike Matsui. Sure, I was disappointed with his performance at the plate and in the field. But I somehow remained patient, refraining from calling for his head or his lineup spot. I don't say this to brag. Those upset with Matsui had every right to be so. I've just always liked Matsui for some reason, probably even before that first pitch home run last year. So the last couple of days have been a lot of fun for me.
Most of the Mets spent Tuesday night being dominated by Ramon Ortiz of all people. Prior to the seventh inning the Mets had just four hits and no walks, though Mike Piazza had smacked a ground rule double to lead off the second inning. The Mets entered the bottom of the seventh trailing one run to none. With one out, Doug Mientkiewicz reached on a single. One out later, he was still on first and things were left to Matsui.
The Mets' second baseman hadn't gone entirely without exciting moments to this point in the season. He did have a pair of home runs. And he hit a key three-run triple over the weekend. But when he took a pitch from Ortiz and drove it over the right field wall to give the Mets a lead of one run, it was perhaps the gratifying moment of his season. At times this year, he's looked completely incapable of hitting a ball far enough to escape Shea Stadium. It's too early to say if this one hit is a sign of things to come, but it was at least a reminder that somewhere within Kazuo Matsui is a dynamic and valuable player. Having that guy in the lineup would be a lot more useful to the Mets than having to settle for Miguel Cairo because Matsui's lost his starting spot.
Of course, the drama of this moment wouldn't have been possible if the Mets hadn't gotten a pretty good pitching performance and again they found one in a rather unlikely spot. Kazuhisa Ishii returned from the disabled list with a flourish. He wasn't exactly blowing the Reds away, as the only struck out two batters in six and one-third innings of work while also walking two. But he managed to limit them to just three hits and as a result kept them to just one run.
Things got a little scary in the ninth inning, though. With the Reds sending up three lefties to start the frame, Willie Randolph sent out Dae-Sung Koo to protect the slimmest of leads rather than going with his closer. While it's nice to see Randolph deviate from conventional wisdom given that he sometimes seems a slave to it, this didn't quite work out as he planned. Koo wound up only recording one out while allowing a hit and a walk and had to be rescued by Braden Looper. With runners on first and second, Looper got a fly out and a strikeout to end things and earn his tenth save of the season. He even retired the dreaded Joe Randa, his Opening Day tormenter.
Wednesday was another day for new offensive heroes, as Cliff Floyd had another hitless day. Floyd has played an enormous role in the Mets' offensive success to this point in the season given the struggles of so many of the team's daily players. But in these two games he went zero for nine and others had to pick up the slack. Matsui had another good game with a pair of singles and is now hitting a slightly less awful .243/.286/.338. But others were left to do the heavy lifting.
Jose Reyes, who has not hit much better than Matsui thus far, had a big day with three hits including two triples, both of which preceded his scoring a run. Perhaps even more impressive a day was had by Mike Piazza, who reached base in each of his five plate appearances with a double, three singles and a walk. Piazza is another slow starter who's beginning to come around. Two weeks ago he was hitting a pitiful .198/.274/.349. But since then he's launched four home runs and had five multi-hit games, including two four-hitters. Wednesday's barrage lifted him all the way to .242/.301/.455.
Also joining in on the fun that is an Eric Milton start was Chris Woodward, starting in right field because the Mets had just sent Victor Diaz down to the minors because they didn't think they'd be able to find him enough playing time. I think the Diaz decision is generally defensible given how well all three of the team's starting outfielders are playing right now, but the Mets really can't wait too long to find a way to get Diaz into the major league lineup on a regular basis. I don't know if handing him a first baseman's mitt is a good idea, but it's probably worth at least a discussion. Anyway, in Diaz's absence, Woodward hit his first home run of the season. David Wright and the red-hot Mike Cameron also left the building, for the seventh and fourth times, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Mets got good enough starting pitching from Tom Glavine. He lasted six innings and gave up a scary nine hits, but he only walked two and managed to limit the damage to two runs. He only struck out two batters along the way. It took three relievers for the Mets to get out of the seventh, but only one run was scored and it was charged to Heath Bell, who allowed a hit and a walk and struck out the only batter he retired. Roberto Hernandez pitched a perfect eighth with one K to set things up for Looper in what was then a 6-3 game. But the Mets scored four in the bottom half, so things were left to the only other reliever they hadn't already used, Manny Aybar. He gave up three runs on three hits, including a home run, but at least he didn't walk anybody.
Interleague play gets an early start this weekend as the Yankees swing by for three games. As I write this, the other New York team is engaged in what is surely a thrilling duel with the Seattle Mariners, tied at six in the seventh inning. That contest will determine whether the presently 21-19 Yankees begin the weekend in third or fourth place in the American League's Eastern Division. The Mets are at 22-19, which puts them in fourth place, though a mere game and a half separates them from the top spot, whereas the Yankees will be at best five games shy of the Orioles at the end of the night. Game one of the series promises to incite fans of both sides to fling obscenities at their team's starting hurler, as the Yankees will send Kevin Brown (2-4, 6.08) to the hill to battle Victor Zambrano (2-3, 5.45) and the Mets. Which one will suck the least? Tune in Friday to find out! ¶ joe | 12:56 AM |
Mets 10, Reds 6
Kazuo Matsui's dreadful start to the season has been well-documented. Prior to Tuesday he was hitting an abysmal .234/.281/.313 and receiving a commensurate reaction from Mets fans at Shea Stadium and on the internet. I had not yet brought myself to dislike Matsui. Sure, I was disappointed with his performance at the plate and in the field. But I somehow remained patient, refraining from calling for his head or his lineup spot. I don't say this to brag. Those upset with Matsui had every right to be so. I've just always liked Matsui for some reason, probably even before that first pitch home run last year. So the last couple of days have been a lot of fun for me.
Most of the Mets spent Tuesday night being dominated by Ramon Ortiz of all people. Prior to the seventh inning the Mets had just four hits and no walks, though Mike Piazza had smacked a ground rule double to lead off the second inning. The Mets entered the bottom of the seventh trailing one run to none. With one out, Doug Mientkiewicz reached on a single. One out later, he was still on first and things were left to Matsui.
The Mets' second baseman hadn't gone entirely without exciting moments to this point in the season. He did have a pair of home runs. And he hit a key three-run triple over the weekend. But when he took a pitch from Ortiz and drove it over the right field wall to give the Mets a lead of one run, it was perhaps the gratifying moment of his season. At times this year, he's looked completely incapable of hitting a ball far enough to escape Shea Stadium. It's too early to say if this one hit is a sign of things to come, but it was at least a reminder that somewhere within Kazuo Matsui is a dynamic and valuable player. Having that guy in the lineup would be a lot more useful to the Mets than having to settle for Miguel Cairo because Matsui's lost his starting spot.
Of course, the drama of this moment wouldn't have been possible if the Mets hadn't gotten a pretty good pitching performance and again they found one in a rather unlikely spot. Kazuhisa Ishii returned from the disabled list with a flourish. He wasn't exactly blowing the Reds away, as the only struck out two batters in six and one-third innings of work while also walking two. But he managed to limit them to just three hits and as a result kept them to just one run.
Things got a little scary in the ninth inning, though. With the Reds sending up three lefties to start the frame, Willie Randolph sent out Dae-Sung Koo to protect the slimmest of leads rather than going with his closer. While it's nice to see Randolph deviate from conventional wisdom given that he sometimes seems a slave to it, this didn't quite work out as he planned. Koo wound up only recording one out while allowing a hit and a walk and had to be rescued by Braden Looper. With runners on first and second, Looper got a fly out and a strikeout to end things and earn his tenth save of the season. He even retired the dreaded Joe Randa, his Opening Day tormenter.
Wednesday was another day for new offensive heroes, as Cliff Floyd had another hitless day. Floyd has played an enormous role in the Mets' offensive success to this point in the season given the struggles of so many of the team's daily players. But in these two games he went zero for nine and others had to pick up the slack. Matsui had another good game with a pair of singles and is now hitting a slightly less awful .243/.286/.338. But others were left to do the heavy lifting.
Jose Reyes, who has not hit much better than Matsui thus far, had a big day with three hits including two triples, both of which preceded his scoring a run. Perhaps even more impressive a day was had by Mike Piazza, who reached base in each of his five plate appearances with a double, three singles and a walk. Piazza is another slow starter who's beginning to come around. Two weeks ago he was hitting a pitiful .198/.274/.349. But since then he's launched four home runs and had five multi-hit games, including two four-hitters. Wednesday's barrage lifted him all the way to .242/.301/.455.
Also joining in on the fun that is an Eric Milton start was Chris Woodward, starting in right field because the Mets had just sent Victor Diaz down to the minors because they didn't think they'd be able to find him enough playing time. I think the Diaz decision is generally defensible given how well all three of the team's starting outfielders are playing right now, but the Mets really can't wait too long to find a way to get Diaz into the major league lineup on a regular basis. I don't know if handing him a first baseman's mitt is a good idea, but it's probably worth at least a discussion. Anyway, in Diaz's absence, Woodward hit his first home run of the season. David Wright and the red-hot Mike Cameron also left the building, for the seventh and fourth times, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Mets got good enough starting pitching from Tom Glavine. He lasted six innings and gave up a scary nine hits, but he only walked two and managed to limit the damage to two runs. He only struck out two batters along the way. It took three relievers for the Mets to get out of the seventh, but only one run was scored and it was charged to Heath Bell, who allowed a hit and a walk and struck out the only batter he retired. Roberto Hernandez pitched a perfect eighth with one K to set things up for Looper in what was then a 6-3 game. But the Mets scored four in the bottom half, so things were left to the only other reliever they hadn't already used, Manny Aybar. He gave up three runs on three hits, including a home run, but at least he didn't walk anybody.
Interleague play gets an early start this weekend as the Yankees swing by for three games. As I write this, the other New York team is engaged in what is surely a thrilling duel with the Seattle Mariners, tied at six in the seventh inning. That contest will determine whether the presently 21-19 Yankees begin the weekend in third or fourth place in the American League's Eastern Division. The Mets are at 22-19, which puts them in fourth place, though a mere game and a half separates them from the top spot, whereas the Yankees will be at best five games shy of the Orioles at the end of the night. Game one of the series promises to incite fans of both sides to fling obscenities at their team's starting hurler, as the Yankees will send Kevin Brown (2-4, 6.08) to the hill to battle Victor Zambrano (2-3, 5.45) and the Mets. Which one will suck the least? Tune in Friday to find out! ¶ joe | 12:56 AM |
