Friday, August 19, 2005
Mets 1, Nationals 0
This is ridiculous. As ardent a supporter of Jae Seo as I have been, even I am shocked by how well he's pitching. It's true that he's yet to come in contact with an offense that one might describe in superlative terms like "good" or "competent", but his utter dominance since returning to the major leagues is still remarkable. At this point, it's difficult to even comprehend that the Mets gave Seo's job to Kazuhisa Ishii for three months, let alone get outraged by it. Basking in the glory of Jae Seo makes it impossible to dwell on such negative thoughts.
One could make an argument for any of Seo's last three starts being his best since the recall, but I might just have to give it to this one. He lasted longer and struck out more batters than in his first start. And he gave up fewer hits and runs than in his second. The only thing that got a little worse was his control, as he walked two batters and hit another after walking just one batter in each of his previous two starts. But he lasted eight innings and shut the Nationals out on just four hits while striking out five batters. He won his fifth game in just six major league starts and lowered his ERA to 1.09. There is no excuse for Jae Seo do anything for the rest of this year but start games for the New York Mets. Steve Trachsel, Victor Zambrano and Tom Glavine can figure out for themselves who takes a seat.
Of course, Seo's efforts were nearly for naught, as the Mets' offense was similarly stifled by Washington starter John Patterson. It wasn't until the bottom of the seventh inning, with Seo in jeopardy of being removed from the game, that the Mets put a run on the board. With one out, Ramon Castro doubled to left field. Victor Diaz followed with a single to drive him home. The Mets had eight hits on the night, but those were the only two that put a run on the board. And that's quite a shame for Jose Reyes, who did just about all he could to singlehandedly score one. He had four singles in as many at bats and stole three bases to give him forty-five on the season. But he was caught stealing once and stranded three times. Carlos Beltran had a single and two walks, one intentional, and also stole a base. David Wright had a single but was caught stealing.
After the Mets put their run on the board, Seo went back to the mound and pitched perhaps his toughest inning of the game. The Nationals had gotten runners on first and third with one out in the second and they did the same in the eighth. But just as he had in the second, Seo struck out one batter and got another to fly out. In the eighth, it was Brad Wilkerson he fanned and Jose Vidro who hit the fly ball. Braden Looper relieved Seo in the ninth and while he gave up a hit to the first batter he faced, he followed that with a double play and a strikeout to save the game.
The Mets now sit two and a half games back of the National League Wild Card. The Phillies lost and the Astros won to take a half game lead over both Philadelphia and the Marlins, who also won, with Washington a full game out. Tomorrow's game looks like another tight pitching matchup. The Mets will send out Pedro Martinez (12-5, 2.96) to take on Livan Hernandez (14-5, 3.45) and the Nationals. The Mets have lost each of Pedro's last four decisions, but in only one did he pitch badly and the Washington offense is a good opportunity for him to take another crack at Mets history. ¶ joe | 10:52 PM |
This is ridiculous. As ardent a supporter of Jae Seo as I have been, even I am shocked by how well he's pitching. It's true that he's yet to come in contact with an offense that one might describe in superlative terms like "good" or "competent", but his utter dominance since returning to the major leagues is still remarkable. At this point, it's difficult to even comprehend that the Mets gave Seo's job to Kazuhisa Ishii for three months, let alone get outraged by it. Basking in the glory of Jae Seo makes it impossible to dwell on such negative thoughts.
One could make an argument for any of Seo's last three starts being his best since the recall, but I might just have to give it to this one. He lasted longer and struck out more batters than in his first start. And he gave up fewer hits and runs than in his second. The only thing that got a little worse was his control, as he walked two batters and hit another after walking just one batter in each of his previous two starts. But he lasted eight innings and shut the Nationals out on just four hits while striking out five batters. He won his fifth game in just six major league starts and lowered his ERA to 1.09. There is no excuse for Jae Seo do anything for the rest of this year but start games for the New York Mets. Steve Trachsel, Victor Zambrano and Tom Glavine can figure out for themselves who takes a seat.
Of course, Seo's efforts were nearly for naught, as the Mets' offense was similarly stifled by Washington starter John Patterson. It wasn't until the bottom of the seventh inning, with Seo in jeopardy of being removed from the game, that the Mets put a run on the board. With one out, Ramon Castro doubled to left field. Victor Diaz followed with a single to drive him home. The Mets had eight hits on the night, but those were the only two that put a run on the board. And that's quite a shame for Jose Reyes, who did just about all he could to singlehandedly score one. He had four singles in as many at bats and stole three bases to give him forty-five on the season. But he was caught stealing once and stranded three times. Carlos Beltran had a single and two walks, one intentional, and also stole a base. David Wright had a single but was caught stealing.
After the Mets put their run on the board, Seo went back to the mound and pitched perhaps his toughest inning of the game. The Nationals had gotten runners on first and third with one out in the second and they did the same in the eighth. But just as he had in the second, Seo struck out one batter and got another to fly out. In the eighth, it was Brad Wilkerson he fanned and Jose Vidro who hit the fly ball. Braden Looper relieved Seo in the ninth and while he gave up a hit to the first batter he faced, he followed that with a double play and a strikeout to save the game.
The Mets now sit two and a half games back of the National League Wild Card. The Phillies lost and the Astros won to take a half game lead over both Philadelphia and the Marlins, who also won, with Washington a full game out. Tomorrow's game looks like another tight pitching matchup. The Mets will send out Pedro Martinez (12-5, 2.96) to take on Livan Hernandez (14-5, 3.45) and the Nationals. The Mets have lost each of Pedro's last four decisions, but in only one did he pitch badly and the Washington offense is a good opportunity for him to take another crack at Mets history. ¶ joe | 10:52 PM |
