Sunday, September 04, 2005
Marlins 4, Mets 2
Marlins 5, Mets 4
Mets 7, Marlins 1
Well, they're not dead yet. The Mets maintained their lead in the race to get eliminated from playoff contention, but they weren't able to extend it. The competition kept on sucking right behind them and so the Mets remain in danger of falling into the playoffs. The next week will probably take care of that, but this weekend wasn't quite awful enough.
The Mets' offense had another inept evening on Friday, thought they at least had a good opposing pitcher to blame in on this time. The Mets managed seven hits against Dontrelle Willis, and added one more against the Florida bullpen. But a double by Ramon Castro was the only one that went for extra bases and the Mets drew just one walk all night. Victor Diaz had was the only Met with multiple hits with two singles. Carlos Beltran had a single and the walk.
The Mets' pitching could have been a lot worse, I suppose, but Victor Zambrano did get pretty well knocked around. He lasted just five innings and allowed four runs on twelve hits. He only allowed one walk and struck out three, but it was another in a string of unimpressive performances. He's now allowed at least four runs in four out of his last six outings and seen his ERA rise from its low point of 3.51 on July 16th to 4.17. The Mets haven't officially dumped him from the rotation yet, but he supposedly only got this start due to his impressive career stats against the Marlins. He's now pitched twenty-seven innings with a 3.00 ERA against them. Given who is scheduled to start on Monday, Zambrano may not be long for the starting rotation.
Speaking of starting pitchers acquired last July who've had a crappy second half of the summer, Kris Benson got the start on Saturday and was not exactly to blame in the Mets' loss. He was removed after just six and two-thirds innings with two runners on base, but at that point in time, he had allowed just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one. But that would not complete his line.
The offense had sprung to life somewhat to give Benson a bit of a cushion. The Mets scored four runs on nine hits including a double from Beltran, who also drew a walk, and Cliff Floyd's twenty-eight home run of the season. David Wright had a couple of singles and Castro had a single and two of the Mets' five walks. Jose Reyes had a single, a walk and a stolen base. Even Miguel Cairo somehow got a hit.
So when Benson was removed with two on and one out in the seventh, the Mets had a 4-2 lead. Juan Padilla came in and got an out before walking a batter to load the bases. So with two outs, the bases loaded and Miguel Cabrera coming to the plate, Willie Randolph went to his bullpen. Anyone with half a brain could guess that he'd bring in Roberto Hernandez, who has been the Mets' most frequently used and most effective reliever this season. One would have to be under the influence of some strong illicit substances to guess that he'd bring in a guy who'd been released by the White Sox after posting an ERA near six to make his Mets debut in this situation. But that is what Randolph did, calling on Shingo Takatsu, who gave up a base-clearing, game-losing double to Cabrera. Figuring out the logic behind Randolph's bullpen management is a lot like shooting laser beams out of my eyes in that, no matter how hard I try, it is something I will never be able to do, so it's not worth even trying.
So, faced with the opportunity to finally put this season out of its misery with a sweep on Sunday, the Mets went out and screwed it all up by playing well for nine innings. Of course, at the heart of this unusual turn of events was Jae Seo. The next best thing to Kazuhisa Ishii lasted seven innings and somehow tricked the Marlins into scoring just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out six batters, but two of those were Carlos Delgado, so that hardly even counts. Roberto Hernandez, fresh from a relaxing Saturday off, pitched a perfect inning of relief, as did Braden Looper.
The Mets offense, meanwhile, had a big day, and their second baseman was at the heart of it. That's right, Cairo...had the day off. Kazuo Matsui got the start and had three hits including a triple which led to the him scoring the Mets' first run in the top of the first inning. Beltran, Wright and Diaz each had two hits. Wright, Diaz and Doug Mientkiewicz each hit a double. Floyd hit his twenty-ninth home run. Reyes had another single and another walk.
Thanks to the top three teams in the division losing on Sunday, the Mets (70-66) remain just 2.5 games behind the Wild Card leading Phillies. The Mets will head to Atlanta to take on the Braves (78-59), whom they trail by 7.5 games. Steve Trachsel (1-0, 0.00) will make his return to the starting rotation and try to get that job-saving no hitter than eluded him last time out. Former Met John Thomson (3-4, 4.80) will go for Atlanta. ¶ joe | 10:40 PM |
Marlins 5, Mets 4
Mets 7, Marlins 1
Well, they're not dead yet. The Mets maintained their lead in the race to get eliminated from playoff contention, but they weren't able to extend it. The competition kept on sucking right behind them and so the Mets remain in danger of falling into the playoffs. The next week will probably take care of that, but this weekend wasn't quite awful enough.
The Mets' offense had another inept evening on Friday, thought they at least had a good opposing pitcher to blame in on this time. The Mets managed seven hits against Dontrelle Willis, and added one more against the Florida bullpen. But a double by Ramon Castro was the only one that went for extra bases and the Mets drew just one walk all night. Victor Diaz had was the only Met with multiple hits with two singles. Carlos Beltran had a single and the walk.
The Mets' pitching could have been a lot worse, I suppose, but Victor Zambrano did get pretty well knocked around. He lasted just five innings and allowed four runs on twelve hits. He only allowed one walk and struck out three, but it was another in a string of unimpressive performances. He's now allowed at least four runs in four out of his last six outings and seen his ERA rise from its low point of 3.51 on July 16th to 4.17. The Mets haven't officially dumped him from the rotation yet, but he supposedly only got this start due to his impressive career stats against the Marlins. He's now pitched twenty-seven innings with a 3.00 ERA against them. Given who is scheduled to start on Monday, Zambrano may not be long for the starting rotation.
Speaking of starting pitchers acquired last July who've had a crappy second half of the summer, Kris Benson got the start on Saturday and was not exactly to blame in the Mets' loss. He was removed after just six and two-thirds innings with two runners on base, but at that point in time, he had allowed just two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one. But that would not complete his line.
The offense had sprung to life somewhat to give Benson a bit of a cushion. The Mets scored four runs on nine hits including a double from Beltran, who also drew a walk, and Cliff Floyd's twenty-eight home run of the season. David Wright had a couple of singles and Castro had a single and two of the Mets' five walks. Jose Reyes had a single, a walk and a stolen base. Even Miguel Cairo somehow got a hit.
So when Benson was removed with two on and one out in the seventh, the Mets had a 4-2 lead. Juan Padilla came in and got an out before walking a batter to load the bases. So with two outs, the bases loaded and Miguel Cabrera coming to the plate, Willie Randolph went to his bullpen. Anyone with half a brain could guess that he'd bring in Roberto Hernandez, who has been the Mets' most frequently used and most effective reliever this season. One would have to be under the influence of some strong illicit substances to guess that he'd bring in a guy who'd been released by the White Sox after posting an ERA near six to make his Mets debut in this situation. But that is what Randolph did, calling on Shingo Takatsu, who gave up a base-clearing, game-losing double to Cabrera. Figuring out the logic behind Randolph's bullpen management is a lot like shooting laser beams out of my eyes in that, no matter how hard I try, it is something I will never be able to do, so it's not worth even trying.
So, faced with the opportunity to finally put this season out of its misery with a sweep on Sunday, the Mets went out and screwed it all up by playing well for nine innings. Of course, at the heart of this unusual turn of events was Jae Seo. The next best thing to Kazuhisa Ishii lasted seven innings and somehow tricked the Marlins into scoring just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out six batters, but two of those were Carlos Delgado, so that hardly even counts. Roberto Hernandez, fresh from a relaxing Saturday off, pitched a perfect inning of relief, as did Braden Looper.
The Mets offense, meanwhile, had a big day, and their second baseman was at the heart of it. That's right, Cairo...had the day off. Kazuo Matsui got the start and had three hits including a triple which led to the him scoring the Mets' first run in the top of the first inning. Beltran, Wright and Diaz each had two hits. Wright, Diaz and Doug Mientkiewicz each hit a double. Floyd hit his twenty-ninth home run. Reyes had another single and another walk.
Thanks to the top three teams in the division losing on Sunday, the Mets (70-66) remain just 2.5 games behind the Wild Card leading Phillies. The Mets will head to Atlanta to take on the Braves (78-59), whom they trail by 7.5 games. Steve Trachsel (1-0, 0.00) will make his return to the starting rotation and try to get that job-saving no hitter than eluded him last time out. Former Met John Thomson (3-4, 4.80) will go for Atlanta. ¶ joe | 10:40 PM |
