Sunday, September 23, 2007
So close and yet so far
Nothing comes easy for these Mets. This week they scored fifty runs in seven games and barely managed to escape with four wins. They allowed 47 runs, 19 of which were scored against the bullpen. They led in each of the three losses and nearly blew a fourth on Sunday. But an extra-inning win left them with a 2.5 game lead and a magic number of 5 with seven games to play. All seven are at home and against sub-.500 teams, so missing the playoffs at this point should not be easy. Still, nothing this team might do would shock me.
David Wright continued to play like a player who is more valuable than any other player you might name, hitting .452/.486/.613 this week and driving in Sunday's game-winning run in the eleventh. His continued excellence is all the more important given than neither Jose Reyes nor Carlos Beltran did much with the bat this week and Carlos Delgado only returned from injury on Friday.
Wright did have some help, though, as Moises Alou continued to prove that if he's healthy enough to step on to the field, he will hit. This week he hit .414/.469/.483 and extended his hitting streak to a team-record 27 games. Somewhat more surprisingly, Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca combined to go 18-for-36 this week with three home runs and four doubles. Green is actually hitting .396/.491/.604 for the month of September, his best month in terms of OPS since June of 2002, which was his last year as a serious power hitter. Lo Duca is also having quite a month at .324/.316/.574, but it was still nice to see Ramon Castro finally return and homer in Saturday's game.
The Mets needed every bit of that offense as only one starting pitcher lasted more than five innings in a game this week and the bullpen was no help. Aside from Oliver Perez's terrific eight-inning, two-run, eight-strikeout, no-walk performance on Saturday, every starter struggled. Brian Lawrence pitched so badly on Monday that he got designated for assignment despite the fact that the AAA season is over and thus there isn't anywhere to assign him to. John Maine gave up eleven runs in 9.1 innings over two starts, though the second one was definitely an improvement over the first. Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez each gave up four runs in five innings, though only three of Pedro's were earned and he did strike out seven. The Marlins' offense is one of the best in the game and I'll still take my chances with Pedro and Glavine against anyone in October, but asking the Mets' bullpen to pitch 26.1 innings this week was a bit much.
Of those nineteen runs they allowed, seventeen were earned, adding up to a 5.84 ERA. Guillermo Mota somehow pitched 4.1 innings without allowing a run, but everyone else had a rough week. Billy Wagner only pitched twice and he gave up a run both times. Aaron Heilman pitched in five of seven games and was doing fine until Sunday when he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning. Perez's great start on Saturday gave most of the bullpen a rest, but for some reason Heilman had to pitch to preserve a five-run lead in the ninth. That didn't work out too well on Sunday when the Mets wound up using eight different relievers. Pedro Feliciano is supposed to be the third good reliever in this bullpen, but this week he gave up three runs in two innings on four hits and two walks. This pen might not be any good even if it is well-rested, but it sure would be nice if a few starters pitched at least seven innings this week. With Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber scheduled to start two of the next three games, that may be asking a lot.
The week will start with the Mets (87-68) hosting those pesky Nationals (69-87) for three games. Pelfrey (3-7, 5.24), Glavine (13-6, 3.97) and Humber (0-0, 3.00) will face Matt Chico (5-9, 4.74), Jason Bergmann (5-5, 4.30) and Shawn Hill (4-5, 3.42). The Mets nearly have a second straight division title in their grasp, but as this season has proven time and time again, it ain't over 'til it's over. ¶ joe | 10:51 PM |
Nothing comes easy for these Mets. This week they scored fifty runs in seven games and barely managed to escape with four wins. They allowed 47 runs, 19 of which were scored against the bullpen. They led in each of the three losses and nearly blew a fourth on Sunday. But an extra-inning win left them with a 2.5 game lead and a magic number of 5 with seven games to play. All seven are at home and against sub-.500 teams, so missing the playoffs at this point should not be easy. Still, nothing this team might do would shock me.
David Wright continued to play like a player who is more valuable than any other player you might name, hitting .452/.486/.613 this week and driving in Sunday's game-winning run in the eleventh. His continued excellence is all the more important given than neither Jose Reyes nor Carlos Beltran did much with the bat this week and Carlos Delgado only returned from injury on Friday.
Wright did have some help, though, as Moises Alou continued to prove that if he's healthy enough to step on to the field, he will hit. This week he hit .414/.469/.483 and extended his hitting streak to a team-record 27 games. Somewhat more surprisingly, Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca combined to go 18-for-36 this week with three home runs and four doubles. Green is actually hitting .396/.491/.604 for the month of September, his best month in terms of OPS since June of 2002, which was his last year as a serious power hitter. Lo Duca is also having quite a month at .324/.316/.574, but it was still nice to see Ramon Castro finally return and homer in Saturday's game.
The Mets needed every bit of that offense as only one starting pitcher lasted more than five innings in a game this week and the bullpen was no help. Aside from Oliver Perez's terrific eight-inning, two-run, eight-strikeout, no-walk performance on Saturday, every starter struggled. Brian Lawrence pitched so badly on Monday that he got designated for assignment despite the fact that the AAA season is over and thus there isn't anywhere to assign him to. John Maine gave up eleven runs in 9.1 innings over two starts, though the second one was definitely an improvement over the first. Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez each gave up four runs in five innings, though only three of Pedro's were earned and he did strike out seven. The Marlins' offense is one of the best in the game and I'll still take my chances with Pedro and Glavine against anyone in October, but asking the Mets' bullpen to pitch 26.1 innings this week was a bit much.
Of those nineteen runs they allowed, seventeen were earned, adding up to a 5.84 ERA. Guillermo Mota somehow pitched 4.1 innings without allowing a run, but everyone else had a rough week. Billy Wagner only pitched twice and he gave up a run both times. Aaron Heilman pitched in five of seven games and was doing fine until Sunday when he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning. Perez's great start on Saturday gave most of the bullpen a rest, but for some reason Heilman had to pitch to preserve a five-run lead in the ninth. That didn't work out too well on Sunday when the Mets wound up using eight different relievers. Pedro Feliciano is supposed to be the third good reliever in this bullpen, but this week he gave up three runs in two innings on four hits and two walks. This pen might not be any good even if it is well-rested, but it sure would be nice if a few starters pitched at least seven innings this week. With Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber scheduled to start two of the next three games, that may be asking a lot.
The week will start with the Mets (87-68) hosting those pesky Nationals (69-87) for three games. Pelfrey (3-7, 5.24), Glavine (13-6, 3.97) and Humber (0-0, 3.00) will face Matt Chico (5-9, 4.74), Jason Bergmann (5-5, 4.30) and Shawn Hill (4-5, 3.42). The Mets nearly have a second straight division title in their grasp, but as this season has proven time and time again, it ain't over 'til it's over. ¶ joe | 10:51 PM |
