Monday, June 27, 2005
Yankees 5, Mets 4
The Mets' bullpen is not good. You know this and I know this. But could either of us really have expected them to out-suck the Yankees' defense? It seems impossible, but that's exactly what happened on Sunday night. After two very good starting pitching performances, the Yankee fielders did their best to give it away, but would not be outdone by the Met relievers.
Kris Benson had another oddly effective performance, allowing just one run through the first six innings despite walking four batters while striking out just three. But aside from the free passes, all he gave up was three singles. Randy Johnson was similarly stinging through the first six frames, allowing his lone run on four hits and zero walks while striking out five. It was when both men stepped out on the field to pitch the seventh that things began to fall apart for them.
Johnson gave up a single to David Wright with one out and a double to Chris Woodward with two outs. Of course, that wasn't enough to actually score a run given that Wright had been thrown out at second when Willie Randolph called an inexplicable hit-and-run with Woodward, who swung and missed. But Johnson couldn't get out of the inning quite that easily, as one wild pitch plus two errors equaled three runs for the Mets. After bouncing a pitch to get Woodward to third, Johnson got a ground ball to second baseman Robinson Cano, but he couldn't handle it and the Mets' had their first unearned run. Tom Gordon replaced Johnson and got another ground ball to the right side but Jose Reyes beat it out and Jason Giambi threw it far enough away to allow two more runs in. Surely the Mets' relievers could prevent three runs from scoring in three innings.
Of course, one might also think that Willie Randolph would remove his starting pitcher after a sixth inning in which he clearly began to lose control of the game while giving up the Yankees first run of the game. Instead Benson got the opportunity to walk Bernie Williams to lead off the seventh before being removed. Then Aaron Heilman came in and escalated the situation in an innovative way, balking Williams to second. Heilman did get a couple of outs afterwards and he only allowed two runs. But he's finally getting some shots in high leverage situations and his failure to take advantage and earn Randolph's elusive confidence is quite disappointing. Royce Ring and Roberto Hernandez each got a couple of outs without too much trouble.
Then it came time for Braden Looper. And he made sure to remind everyone that the 2005 version of him bears little resemblance to the 2004 vintage. To begin the demonstration, he walked his tenth batter of the year, putting him 62.5% of the way toward his walk total of a year ago in less than one-third of the innings. Facing four batters without retiring any of them is not the way to reaffirm your ability to close out games, but I suppose if it takes that long before a run scores, you can count that as some sort of moral victory. Looper gave up a double, an intentional walk and a two-run single in his out-less appearance to blow the Mets' chance at a sweep. And the fact that the Mets use him as if he were the best reliever is not nearly as disturbing as the fact that he may actually be. The Mets have a lot of guys who are sort of okay out in the bullpen, but right now, no one out there inspires confidence.
Still, winning two out of three from the Yankees isn't a bad way to spend a weekend. Neither is winning your second consecutive series. The Mets may still be under .500, but some things are going in the right direction. Of course, over the weekend they also put Doug Mientkiewicz on the disabled list and replaced him with Jose Offerman. Offerman, Gerald Williams and Danny Graves all on the same roster. That is exactly what a last place team looks like.
On Tuesday the Mets get another chance to climb the divisional ladders as the Phillies come to town having lost four in a row and five out of six. Winning two out of three still wounded be enough to get the Mets into fourth place, but it would get them back to the break-even mark. The pitching matchup will be a rematch of last Wednesday's game in Philadelphia. Both Victor Zambrano (3-6, 3.97) and Robinson Tejeda (1-0, 2.03) pitched well in that game, though neither figured in the decision as the Mets won 8-4. ¶ joe | 10:05 PM |
The Mets' bullpen is not good. You know this and I know this. But could either of us really have expected them to out-suck the Yankees' defense? It seems impossible, but that's exactly what happened on Sunday night. After two very good starting pitching performances, the Yankee fielders did their best to give it away, but would not be outdone by the Met relievers.
Kris Benson had another oddly effective performance, allowing just one run through the first six innings despite walking four batters while striking out just three. But aside from the free passes, all he gave up was three singles. Randy Johnson was similarly stinging through the first six frames, allowing his lone run on four hits and zero walks while striking out five. It was when both men stepped out on the field to pitch the seventh that things began to fall apart for them.
Johnson gave up a single to David Wright with one out and a double to Chris Woodward with two outs. Of course, that wasn't enough to actually score a run given that Wright had been thrown out at second when Willie Randolph called an inexplicable hit-and-run with Woodward, who swung and missed. But Johnson couldn't get out of the inning quite that easily, as one wild pitch plus two errors equaled three runs for the Mets. After bouncing a pitch to get Woodward to third, Johnson got a ground ball to second baseman Robinson Cano, but he couldn't handle it and the Mets' had their first unearned run. Tom Gordon replaced Johnson and got another ground ball to the right side but Jose Reyes beat it out and Jason Giambi threw it far enough away to allow two more runs in. Surely the Mets' relievers could prevent three runs from scoring in three innings.
Of course, one might also think that Willie Randolph would remove his starting pitcher after a sixth inning in which he clearly began to lose control of the game while giving up the Yankees first run of the game. Instead Benson got the opportunity to walk Bernie Williams to lead off the seventh before being removed. Then Aaron Heilman came in and escalated the situation in an innovative way, balking Williams to second. Heilman did get a couple of outs afterwards and he only allowed two runs. But he's finally getting some shots in high leverage situations and his failure to take advantage and earn Randolph's elusive confidence is quite disappointing. Royce Ring and Roberto Hernandez each got a couple of outs without too much trouble.
Then it came time for Braden Looper. And he made sure to remind everyone that the 2005 version of him bears little resemblance to the 2004 vintage. To begin the demonstration, he walked his tenth batter of the year, putting him 62.5% of the way toward his walk total of a year ago in less than one-third of the innings. Facing four batters without retiring any of them is not the way to reaffirm your ability to close out games, but I suppose if it takes that long before a run scores, you can count that as some sort of moral victory. Looper gave up a double, an intentional walk and a two-run single in his out-less appearance to blow the Mets' chance at a sweep. And the fact that the Mets use him as if he were the best reliever is not nearly as disturbing as the fact that he may actually be. The Mets have a lot of guys who are sort of okay out in the bullpen, but right now, no one out there inspires confidence.
Still, winning two out of three from the Yankees isn't a bad way to spend a weekend. Neither is winning your second consecutive series. The Mets may still be under .500, but some things are going in the right direction. Of course, over the weekend they also put Doug Mientkiewicz on the disabled list and replaced him with Jose Offerman. Offerman, Gerald Williams and Danny Graves all on the same roster. That is exactly what a last place team looks like.
On Tuesday the Mets get another chance to climb the divisional ladders as the Phillies come to town having lost four in a row and five out of six. Winning two out of three still wounded be enough to get the Mets into fourth place, but it would get them back to the break-even mark. The pitching matchup will be a rematch of last Wednesday's game in Philadelphia. Both Victor Zambrano (3-6, 3.97) and Robinson Tejeda (1-0, 2.03) pitched well in that game, though neither figured in the decision as the Mets won 8-4. ¶ joe | 10:05 PM |
