?!? I hardly know her!
It is the end of August, and the start of September is upon us, and once again the New York Mets are in first place. At this point last season, they led Philadelphia by just two games. This season, it is even closer; just one game separates the two teams. The parallels are as unavoidable this week as the Bush administration’s response to Katrina and Gustav.
Last season, the Phillies faltered early last September, allowing the Mets to open up a seven-game lead with 17 games left in the season. The Mets, though, imploded, squandering that entire lead before the nadir on the season’s final day, when Tom Glavine allowed seven runs while recording just one out, and the Phillies took the National League East flag by just a game.
Both the Mets and Phillies won today, the Mets finished August 18-11, the Phillies at 16-13. They have only three games remaining with one another—this Friday through Sunday at Shea Stadium.
Pedro Martínez went six grinding innings for the win for the Mets today, but he knows the month ahead will be even tougher if they want to avoid befalling the same fate as last year.
“Until I see that last day when we’ve won the division, I’m not going to be relaxed,” Martínez told the Associated Press. “Hopefully things can be different. I don’t think this team is giving you any hints of showing what happened last year. It’s a different group.”
José Reyes bears a great deal of responsibility for what happened last year, and he hopes to make up for it this September.
“We cannot worry about what happened last year, because this is a new year for us,” Reyes told the A.P. “We’re playing good baseball right now. Hopefully we can continue that.”
In the short term, they will have their hands full with tough opponents, however. Before they return home to face the Phillies, they head to Milwaukee to face the streaking Brewers, winners of eight of their last nine games. The Mets do luck out because they will not have to face CC Sabathia, who is 9-0 with the Brew Crew since being dealt from Cleveland; he threw a one-hitter today that the Brewers are challenging, appealing that the official scoring of the only hit—a slow roller to the third-base side of the mound—should be changed to an error on Sabathia.
The schedule will get easier after Philly, as the Mets’ only remaining road games after Milwaukee are here in Washington and in Atlanta. Philadelphia has the same teams left on the schedule: all four division rivals and four games with Milwaukee at home.
It seems, with just one game separating the two teams, neither team has the clear advantage. Philadelphia has a great bullpen, but the rest of their team has been only mediocre. The Mets are hitting and getting great starting pitching, but they have been let down by their bullpen time and again all season.
The true X-factor is the lingering impact of last year’s collapse on the Mets. Will they be driven by it, or will it consume and overwhelm them as the days in September dwindle and that crisp autumn chill fills the air? Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel thinks it will be the former.
“It has been a motivating factor the entire year.”
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Live Blog: Men’s Basketball Gold-Medal Game
Greetings from my Capitol Hill couch, where I have been taking intermittent naps all evening in order to stay up for the men’s basketball final between the United States and Spain, shown live coast-to-coast by NBC (the only event to be shown live across the country during this entire Olympics). Tip off is at 2:30 a.m. Eastern.
2:23 a.m. – Jim Lampley, who has been working the daytime (overnight in Beijing) shift during this fortnight, but he seems to be in studio tonight instead of Mary Carillo. Maybe he just punched her in the face until she deferred to him.
2:24 a.m. – Wukesong. Hehe.
2:26 a.m. – The first appearance of the old “N.B.A. on NBC” music. John Tesh walks to the bank to cash his royalty check.
2:30 a.m. – Craig Sager is holding up the “LeBron James Gold-Medal Shoe.” LeBron is holding up the “Craig Sager Gold-Medal Sportsjacket,” which is made out of actual melted gold medals.
2:31 a.m. – LeBron then puts down the jacket to nail a three to start the game. Pau Gasol answers with a three-point play.
2:35 a.m. – LeBron picks up two fouls in the first two-and-a-half minutes. No word on whether he has a special “LeBron James Two-Quick-Fouls Shoe.”
2:38 a.m. – And a second foul for Kobe. Uh oh.
2:39 a.m. – Spain leads by four. Largest American deficit of the Olympics.
2:41 a.m. – Spain goes up by five, but Chris Paul responds in two seconds with an acrobatic layup through three defenders, and he adds a free throw.
2:44 a.m. – Chris Fucking Paul. Doug Collins says that Spain, while ahead, is “getting seduced to play a [fast-paced] game they can’t win.”
2:47 a.m. – The U.S. is starting to press, and they now have a four-point lead.
2:51 a.m. – Breen and Collins are complaining about the officiating. Breen: “The official from Finland warns Mike Krzyzewski.” I always wanted to hear that sentence.
2:53 a.m. – End of first quarter: U.S. leads 38-31 in a high-scoring affair. And, as I always say, if you’re going to have an affair, it might as well be high-scoring.
2:56 a.m. – Kobe hits a three to make it a ten-point lead. I may be going to bed at halftime.
2:58 a.m. – The Lithuanian official is described as a “Sting-look-alike” by Breen.
3:03 a.m. – After a sloppy stretch, Coach K remembers that Chris Paul is on the team and rightly puts him on the floor.
3:08 a.m. – Dwyane Wade has 18 points in eight-and-a-half minutes. The U.S. could put up 140 tonight.
3:12 a.m. – I’m actually napping between entries. You try staying up for this.
3:13 a.m. – D-Wade and Rudy Fernández are trading daggers. U.S. leads by nine.
3:19 a.m. – Wade (21) misses at the buzzer, but the U.S. leads, 69-61 at halftime. Just close enough to stay awake for the second half.
3:22 a.m. – The halftime show features Part II of the Costas-Jacques Rogge. Did you know that Jacques Rogge is a Count in Belgium?
3:24 a.m. – Costas is tough with him. Perhaps he wouldn’t be terrible on “Meet the Press.”
3:33 a.m. – Did you know the 1972 team never accepted their silver medals after being ripped off by the officials? Doug Collins never mentioned that before.
3:34 a.m. – The second half begins with Sager quoting Coach K: “We need to play better defense without fouling.” Sager Bombs!
3:36 a.m. – Hey, Olympic officiating is inconsistent. Who knew?
3:38 a.m. – The U.S. lead is cut to four. Can we get Chris Paul in the game now?
3:41 a.m. – Back down to four again, and Coach K wants a time-out. When do we start to panic?
3:44 a.m. – Spain goes to a zone defense, still leading by four.
3:46 a.m. – The U.S. just committed about six fouls on the most recent Spanish possession. The officials called nothing.
3:50 a.m. – D-Wade’s first point of the second half. U.S. back up by eight.
3:51 a.m. – Selected DU!AN comment: “alright coach k, time to bring in Lezak.”
3:53 a.m. – ‘Melo hits a three to make the lead 11. Time to pull away.
3:55 a.m – Navarro hits a lefty runner to end the third quarter. U.S. 91, Spain 82. Still to close to go to sleep.
3:56 a.m. – Hey, the gold-medal match in water polo is just underway. Think I can stay up for that, too? How long is a water-polo match, anyway?
3:59 a.m. – Hungary leading the U.S., 6-4, at the end of the first quarter in water polo. Whatever that means. Meanwhile, here, the U.S. is “in a fight for their life,” according to Doug Collins. The lead is back down to five.
4:00 a.m. – Now the U.S. is just jacking threes, and Fernández hits a dagger to cut the lead down to two.
4:01 a.m. – There are about five Spanish fans wearing dresses and wigs. The Euro-Trash version of the Hog-etts.
4:02 a.m. – Four fouls on the U.S.’ most important player: LeBron. Coach K is leaving him in the game with 7:40 remaining.
4:03 a.m. – “Gigantic” shot by Deron Williams brings the lead back up to seven.
4:04 a.m. – Kobe helps key a 7-0 U.S. run before Fernández hits a three and brings the lead back down to six.
4:05 a.m. – And Kobe answers. “You don’t get three championship rings without understanding what pressure is all about,” says Collins. Playing with Shaq helped, I’m sure.
4:06 a.m. – Rudy Fernández blows by Dwight Howard for the dunk and the foul. 22 for Fernández; U.S. up 103-95.
4:09 a.m. – Four fouls on Dwight Howard, who is the only player on the U.S. team with the size to guard Pau Gasol. Gasol makes both free throws, and Spain has the lead down to seven with four minutes left.
4:10 a.m. – Gasol hits a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to five.
4:11 a.m. – Kobe! Bryant hits a long three and draws the contact from Fernández, who fouls out. Huge swing.
4:12 a.m. – Kobe completes the four-point play; 108-99, three minutes to go.
4:13 a.m. – But back-to-back buckets from Spain cut it down to four again. This is way too close.
4:13 a.m. – But D-Wade answers! 27 for Wade, and the lead is back up to 7 with 2:02 to play. Timeout, Spain. What a game.
4:15 a.m. – Collins: “This might be the biggest possession of the game for Spain.”
4:16 a.m. – Kobe fouls Navarro, and Júan Carlos hits one of the two, but Ricky Rubio saves the rebound for the Spaniards.
4:17 a.m. – Spain can’t score, and here come the fouls.
4:18 a.m. – Two clutch free-throws for CP3, and this one could be over.
4:19 a.m. – Even with the fouls, David Stern—who is in attendance in Beijing—should take notice of how much more enjoyable the game is without a million time-outs being called at the end.
4:21 a.m. – With a ten-point lead with less than 30 seconds remaining, it looks like redemption for the “Redeem Team.” And a Gatorade bath for Coach K, who, surprisingly, does not suddenly faint or begin melting.
4:23 a.m. – LeBron is exhorting the crowd in Beijing in a chant of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
4:24 a.m. – Time runs out, and each of the players goes to shake hands with Breen and Collins. Hmmm.
4:30 a.m. – Did Kobe just say “Let that Mamba loose?”
4:33 a.m. – As much as I’d love to stay up for the medal ceremony, I can’t sit through the Michael Phelps retrospective right now.
Anyway, it wasn’t the greatest defensive performance in the world, but seeing these N.B.A. stars celebrate like schoolboys for their country makes it all worthwhile. Even though it’s after 4:30 a.m., and I’m still awake.
And, no, I’m not staying up for water polo.
2:23 a.m. – Jim Lampley, who has been working the daytime (overnight in Beijing) shift during this fortnight, but he seems to be in studio tonight instead of Mary Carillo. Maybe he just punched her in the face until she deferred to him.
2:24 a.m. – Wukesong. Hehe.
2:26 a.m. – The first appearance of the old “N.B.A. on NBC” music. John Tesh walks to the bank to cash his royalty check.
2:30 a.m. – Craig Sager is holding up the “LeBron James Gold-Medal Shoe.” LeBron is holding up the “Craig Sager Gold-Medal Sportsjacket,” which is made out of actual melted gold medals.
2:31 a.m. – LeBron then puts down the jacket to nail a three to start the game. Pau Gasol answers with a three-point play.
2:35 a.m. – LeBron picks up two fouls in the first two-and-a-half minutes. No word on whether he has a special “LeBron James Two-Quick-Fouls Shoe.”
2:38 a.m. – And a second foul for Kobe. Uh oh.
2:39 a.m. – Spain leads by four. Largest American deficit of the Olympics.
2:41 a.m. – Spain goes up by five, but Chris Paul responds in two seconds with an acrobatic layup through three defenders, and he adds a free throw.
2:44 a.m. – Chris Fucking Paul. Doug Collins says that Spain, while ahead, is “getting seduced to play a [fast-paced] game they can’t win.”
2:47 a.m. – The U.S. is starting to press, and they now have a four-point lead.
2:51 a.m. – Breen and Collins are complaining about the officiating. Breen: “The official from Finland warns Mike Krzyzewski.” I always wanted to hear that sentence.
2:53 a.m. – End of first quarter: U.S. leads 38-31 in a high-scoring affair. And, as I always say, if you’re going to have an affair, it might as well be high-scoring.
2:56 a.m. – Kobe hits a three to make it a ten-point lead. I may be going to bed at halftime.
2:58 a.m. – The Lithuanian official is described as a “Sting-look-alike” by Breen.
3:03 a.m. – After a sloppy stretch, Coach K remembers that Chris Paul is on the team and rightly puts him on the floor.
3:08 a.m. – Dwyane Wade has 18 points in eight-and-a-half minutes. The U.S. could put up 140 tonight.
3:12 a.m. – I’m actually napping between entries. You try staying up for this.
3:13 a.m. – D-Wade and Rudy Fernández are trading daggers. U.S. leads by nine.
3:19 a.m. – Wade (21) misses at the buzzer, but the U.S. leads, 69-61 at halftime. Just close enough to stay awake for the second half.
3:22 a.m. – The halftime show features Part II of the Costas-Jacques Rogge. Did you know that Jacques Rogge is a Count in Belgium?
3:24 a.m. – Costas is tough with him. Perhaps he wouldn’t be terrible on “Meet the Press.”
3:33 a.m. – Did you know the 1972 team never accepted their silver medals after being ripped off by the officials? Doug Collins never mentioned that before.
3:34 a.m. – The second half begins with Sager quoting Coach K: “We need to play better defense without fouling.” Sager Bombs!
3:36 a.m. – Hey, Olympic officiating is inconsistent. Who knew?
3:38 a.m. – The U.S. lead is cut to four. Can we get Chris Paul in the game now?
3:41 a.m. – Back down to four again, and Coach K wants a time-out. When do we start to panic?
3:44 a.m. – Spain goes to a zone defense, still leading by four.
3:46 a.m. – The U.S. just committed about six fouls on the most recent Spanish possession. The officials called nothing.
3:50 a.m. – D-Wade’s first point of the second half. U.S. back up by eight.
3:51 a.m. – Selected DU!AN comment: “alright coach k, time to bring in Lezak.”
3:53 a.m. – ‘Melo hits a three to make the lead 11. Time to pull away.
3:55 a.m – Navarro hits a lefty runner to end the third quarter. U.S. 91, Spain 82. Still to close to go to sleep.
3:56 a.m. – Hey, the gold-medal match in water polo is just underway. Think I can stay up for that, too? How long is a water-polo match, anyway?
3:59 a.m. – Hungary leading the U.S., 6-4, at the end of the first quarter in water polo. Whatever that means. Meanwhile, here, the U.S. is “in a fight for their life,” according to Doug Collins. The lead is back down to five.
4:00 a.m. – Now the U.S. is just jacking threes, and Fernández hits a dagger to cut the lead down to two.
4:01 a.m. – There are about five Spanish fans wearing dresses and wigs. The Euro-Trash version of the Hog-etts.
4:02 a.m. – Four fouls on the U.S.’ most important player: LeBron. Coach K is leaving him in the game with 7:40 remaining.
4:03 a.m. – “Gigantic” shot by Deron Williams brings the lead back up to seven.
4:04 a.m. – Kobe helps key a 7-0 U.S. run before Fernández hits a three and brings the lead back down to six.
4:05 a.m. – And Kobe answers. “You don’t get three championship rings without understanding what pressure is all about,” says Collins. Playing with Shaq helped, I’m sure.
4:06 a.m. – Rudy Fernández blows by Dwight Howard for the dunk and the foul. 22 for Fernández; U.S. up 103-95.
4:09 a.m. – Four fouls on Dwight Howard, who is the only player on the U.S. team with the size to guard Pau Gasol. Gasol makes both free throws, and Spain has the lead down to seven with four minutes left.
4:10 a.m. – Gasol hits a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to five.
4:11 a.m. – Kobe! Bryant hits a long three and draws the contact from Fernández, who fouls out. Huge swing.
4:12 a.m. – Kobe completes the four-point play; 108-99, three minutes to go.
4:13 a.m. – But back-to-back buckets from Spain cut it down to four again. This is way too close.
4:13 a.m. – But D-Wade answers! 27 for Wade, and the lead is back up to 7 with 2:02 to play. Timeout, Spain. What a game.
4:15 a.m. – Collins: “This might be the biggest possession of the game for Spain.”
4:16 a.m. – Kobe fouls Navarro, and Júan Carlos hits one of the two, but Ricky Rubio saves the rebound for the Spaniards.
4:17 a.m. – Spain can’t score, and here come the fouls.
4:18 a.m. – Two clutch free-throws for CP3, and this one could be over.
4:19 a.m. – Even with the fouls, David Stern—who is in attendance in Beijing—should take notice of how much more enjoyable the game is without a million time-outs being called at the end.
4:21 a.m. – With a ten-point lead with less than 30 seconds remaining, it looks like redemption for the “Redeem Team.” And a Gatorade bath for Coach K, who, surprisingly, does not suddenly faint or begin melting.
4:23 a.m. – LeBron is exhorting the crowd in Beijing in a chant of “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
4:24 a.m. – Time runs out, and each of the players goes to shake hands with Breen and Collins. Hmmm.
4:30 a.m. – Did Kobe just say “Let that Mamba loose?”
4:33 a.m. – As much as I’d love to stay up for the medal ceremony, I can’t sit through the Michael Phelps retrospective right now.
Anyway, it wasn’t the greatest defensive performance in the world, but seeing these N.B.A. stars celebrate like schoolboys for their country makes it all worthwhile. Even though it’s after 4:30 a.m., and I’m still awake.
And, no, I’m not staying up for water polo.
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Yankees Are in an Unfamiliar Position
BALTIMORE – Their explosion against an inexperienced and impotent Orioles bullpen tonight notwithstanding, the roller-coaster that is the 2008 New York Yankees’ season appears likely to end with the high-priced club failing to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1993.
The Yankees, one night after getting drubbed in Toronto, 13-4, trailed Baltimore 4-3 going to the eighth before scoring two in the frame, and then adding another four more in the ninth to blow the game open. Bobby Abreu went five-for-five (all singles), and the Yankees twice hit back-to-back home runs: in the fifth (Robinson Canó, whose homer traveled 425 feet before careening off the awning of Boog’s Barbecue on Eutaw Street, and José Molina) and in the ninth (Cody Ransom, who is now two-for-two with two home runs since being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Xavier Nady).
New York prevailed, 9-4, with Mariano Rivera earned a four-out save. Mike Mussina allowed four runs over six innings for a no-decision. It was the Yankees’ first win in the opening game of a series in their last eight tries.
“It’s huge,” manager Joe Girardi told the New York Post. “It’s the one thing we haven’t been able to do. To get this win is huge.”
The Yanks still remain 10-and-a-half games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East, and 6 behind Boston (and 5-and-a-half behind Chicago) for the A.L. Wild Card. Boston comes to Yankee Stadium next week (and announced recently that they will do so without an ailing Josh Beckett).
With 34 games left to play, the Yankees are in the most precarious of situations. Losing two out of three in Toronto this week was a step in the wrong direction. And being this far behind means that the Yankees cannot afford more missteps if they hope to avoid closing down Yankee Stadium for good in September rather than October.
“We need to win a lot of games, more than just the first one [of a series],” Derek Jeter, who recorded his 2,500th hit in the first inning tonight, told the New York Daily News. “It means nothing unless we come out and play well tomorrow. We need wins, whether it’s the beginning, middle or end of the series.”
Those wins haven’t been coming lately; the Yankees have a losing record in August thus far. But, in order to overcome this deficit, they have to play a lot better than .500 baseball, starting immediately.
For proof of how desperate the Yankees are at this point of the season: their starting pitcher here tomorrow night? Carl Pavano.
The Yankees, one night after getting drubbed in Toronto, 13-4, trailed Baltimore 4-3 going to the eighth before scoring two in the frame, and then adding another four more in the ninth to blow the game open. Bobby Abreu went five-for-five (all singles), and the Yankees twice hit back-to-back home runs: in the fifth (Robinson Canó, whose homer traveled 425 feet before careening off the awning of Boog’s Barbecue on Eutaw Street, and José Molina) and in the ninth (Cody Ransom, who is now two-for-two with two home runs since being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Xavier Nady).
New York prevailed, 9-4, with Mariano Rivera earned a four-out save. Mike Mussina allowed four runs over six innings for a no-decision. It was the Yankees’ first win in the opening game of a series in their last eight tries.
“It’s huge,” manager Joe Girardi told the New York Post. “It’s the one thing we haven’t been able to do. To get this win is huge.”
The Yanks still remain 10-and-a-half games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East, and 6 behind Boston (and 5-and-a-half behind Chicago) for the A.L. Wild Card. Boston comes to Yankee Stadium next week (and announced recently that they will do so without an ailing Josh Beckett).
With 34 games left to play, the Yankees are in the most precarious of situations. Losing two out of three in Toronto this week was a step in the wrong direction. And being this far behind means that the Yankees cannot afford more missteps if they hope to avoid closing down Yankee Stadium for good in September rather than October.
“We need to win a lot of games, more than just the first one [of a series],” Derek Jeter, who recorded his 2,500th hit in the first inning tonight, told the New York Daily News. “It means nothing unless we come out and play well tomorrow. We need wins, whether it’s the beginning, middle or end of the series.”
Those wins haven’t been coming lately; the Yankees have a losing record in August thus far. But, in order to overcome this deficit, they have to play a lot better than .500 baseball, starting immediately.
For proof of how desperate the Yankees are at this point of the season: their starting pitcher here tomorrow night? Carl Pavano.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A Sweep Leaves the Mets atop the N.L. East
The most tantalizing thing about the 2008 New York Mets—particularly since the removal of Willie Randolph—has been their remarkable propensity to play up or down to the level of their given opponent. Coming into this week’s series here in Washington, the Mets had a losing record against teams with losing records.
They took care of business in the nation’s capital, however, completing a three-game sweep of the woeful Nationals—owners of baseball’s worst record, 44-78—at Nationals Park tonight before 31,058 fans, many of whom came dressed in blue and orange (and, regrettably, black) to root on the road team. The Mets outscored the Nats, 25-6, over the course of the series.
Thanks to a four-game sweep by the Dodgers over Philadelphia out on the West Coast, the Mets now hold a one-game lead in the National League East.
Oliver Pérez took the mound for the Mets tonight, and, for six innings, he was unhittable. The Nats tagged him for three runs in the seventh—pinch-hitter Pete Orr drilled a two-run triple, then scored on a bunt single by Emilio Bonifacio—to creep back to 5-3, but the Mets tacked on four insurance runs in the ninth to pace a 9-3 victory. It was the Nats’ seventh consecutive defeat, and, on nights like these, their chances of victory seem worse than Teddy Roosevelt’s likeness in the presidents race conducted between innings.
Since last season’s collapse, when Washington and Florida decimated the Mets’ playoff hopes during the season’s final week, the Amazins have struggled against mediocre teams. The Mets are 16-9 against Philadelphia and Florida this season—second- and third-place, respectively—but only 10-11 against Atlanta and the last-place Nats. Pérez is a case in point: the Mexican southpaw is 4-0 with a 1.23 earned-run-average against Philadelphia and Florida this season.
“At this time of the year, every win is huge—no matter who [sic] you play,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said after the game tonight. “Washington is looking to knock you off. They’re looking to make a mark for themselves.”
The Mets will need to duplicate that approach this weekend; they head to Pittsburgh now for a four-game set before hosting Atlanta next week at Shea.
“That’s been our weakness this year,” Mets center-fielder Carlos Beltrán said. “We’ve not been able to take advantage of teams under .500. Coming in here, we know that every time we come here, the Washington Nationals always find a way to play good baseball against us. This time, we really approached them the same way we approached the Phillies and the teams in contention.”
The Mets are still a flawed team, though the return of Billy Wagner next week will shore up their biggest weakness: the bullpen. If Ryan Church can come back from post-concussion syndrome, it will add a power bat in right field, despite the contributions of Daniel Murphy, who has been a revelation over the past two weeks.
If they can play as they did in this series, and as they have against the better teams, the Mets can emerge as the frontrunners in the National League East and avenge last year’s disastrous finish.
They took care of business in the nation’s capital, however, completing a three-game sweep of the woeful Nationals—owners of baseball’s worst record, 44-78—at Nationals Park tonight before 31,058 fans, many of whom came dressed in blue and orange (and, regrettably, black) to root on the road team. The Mets outscored the Nats, 25-6, over the course of the series.
Thanks to a four-game sweep by the Dodgers over Philadelphia out on the West Coast, the Mets now hold a one-game lead in the National League East.
Oliver Pérez took the mound for the Mets tonight, and, for six innings, he was unhittable. The Nats tagged him for three runs in the seventh—pinch-hitter Pete Orr drilled a two-run triple, then scored on a bunt single by Emilio Bonifacio—to creep back to 5-3, but the Mets tacked on four insurance runs in the ninth to pace a 9-3 victory. It was the Nats’ seventh consecutive defeat, and, on nights like these, their chances of victory seem worse than Teddy Roosevelt’s likeness in the presidents race conducted between innings.
Since last season’s collapse, when Washington and Florida decimated the Mets’ playoff hopes during the season’s final week, the Amazins have struggled against mediocre teams. The Mets are 16-9 against Philadelphia and Florida this season—second- and third-place, respectively—but only 10-11 against Atlanta and the last-place Nats. Pérez is a case in point: the Mexican southpaw is 4-0 with a 1.23 earned-run-average against Philadelphia and Florida this season.
“At this time of the year, every win is huge—no matter who [sic] you play,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said after the game tonight. “Washington is looking to knock you off. They’re looking to make a mark for themselves.”
The Mets will need to duplicate that approach this weekend; they head to Pittsburgh now for a four-game set before hosting Atlanta next week at Shea.
“That’s been our weakness this year,” Mets center-fielder Carlos Beltrán said. “We’ve not been able to take advantage of teams under .500. Coming in here, we know that every time we come here, the Washington Nationals always find a way to play good baseball against us. This time, we really approached them the same way we approached the Phillies and the teams in contention.”
The Mets are still a flawed team, though the return of Billy Wagner next week will shore up their biggest weakness: the bullpen. If Ryan Church can come back from post-concussion syndrome, it will add a power bat in right field, despite the contributions of Daniel Murphy, who has been a revelation over the past two weeks.
If they can play as they did in this series, and as they have against the better teams, the Mets can emerge as the frontrunners in the National League East and avenge last year’s disastrous finish.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Mets’ Bullpen Continues to Offer Little Relief
When we last left the New York Mets, it was shortly before the July 31st trading deadline, the Mets held a precarious half-game lead in the National League East, and general manager Omar Minaya was examining his club’s most pressing needs.
Your humble diarist urged him to explore opportunities to improve the bullpen. He failed to do so, and the Mets’ bullpen has lost three of the team’s ten games since.
Yesterday’s 7-5 loss to Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium was the nadir, as four members of the Amazins’ patchwork bullpen—necessitated by Billy Wagner’s appearance on the disabled list with a strained left forearm—faltered over the final three innings, allowing the Pirates to score six unanswered runs. The Mets remained two games behind Philadelphia in the National League East.
The biggest obstacle in making up that deficit has unquestionably been the atrocious bullpen. In August, the bullpen has surrendered 23 earned runs in 28 innings, equivalent to a 7.39 earned-run average. Interim closer Aaron Heilman has been demoted; he has allowed six earned runs in four-and-a-third innings this month. He has been, by far, the worst of the bunch, and it was he who blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning yesterday afternoon.
The trouble is that manager Jerry Manuel doesn’t have a lot of options. “Everything from here on out is a possibility,” Manuel said after yesterday’s debacle, but what that actually means is unclear.
With Heilman no longer closing games, and Wagner a week away from returning, it is expected that recent call-up Eddie Kunz will be asked to close. Kunz was promoted from Double-A Binghamton on Aug. 4 and has appeared in only three games, all Mets losses, allowing one earned run over two-and-a-third innings. He went 1-4 in Binghamton this season, with a 2.79 E.R.A. and 27 saves.
“I don’t want to put him there in that situation,” Manuel said, referring to the closer’s role, “but he’s got to be considered.”
The Mets could use Brian Stokes, who was called up from Triple-A New Orleans as a spot-starter on Saturday night against Florida, in the bullpen. His bullpen history, however, does not inspire confidence. Last season, as a reliever for Tampa Bay, he went 2-7, with a 7.07 E.R.A. His W.H.I.P. was 1.84, and hitters batted an astounding .403 against him.
A third, more radical option would be to move a starter to the bullpen and call up Jonathon Niese or allow Stokes to remain in that spot in the rotation. Oliver Pérez or John Maine could be moved to the bullpen, but Pérez is 2-2 with a 1.77 E.R.A. since July 1, and Maine will make his first start tomorrow night here in Washington since July 28 after a short stint on the D.L. Messing with his arm by using him out of the bullpen could backfire, leading to ineffectiveness or further injury.
Over the course of the season, the Mets have outscored their opponents by 98 runs over the first three innings of each game. During the next three innings, however, that differential slips to +2. From the seventh inning on, however, the Mets have been outscored by their opponents by a staggering 51 runs.
“We can’t continue to perform this way late in the game,” Manuel said. “We’ve got to do better than that. I’ll just have to make some adjustments.”
The options for Manuel and the Mets, however, are few and far between. If Wagner returns healthy next week, that will help stabilize the ninth inning, but the seventh and eighth will remain in flux. Manuel will likely continue to ride the hot-hand; currently, that is Duaner Sánchez, and, to a lesser extent, Pedro Feliciano. Moving Maine or Pérez to the bullpen at this point in the season, barring a scheduled turn through the rotation that requires only four starters, would be a foolhardy overreaction.
This is largely the same bullpen that helped the Mets squander a seven-game lead over the last two-and-a-half weeks of the 2007 season. Other than relying on the return of Sánchez, Omar Minaya did little to improve this glaring weakness, even during the course of the season. (In all fairness, Wagner was injured on Aug. 2, two days after the trade deadline.)
The Mets’ next 14 games are against clubs with losing records, but the Mets are only 30-33 against teams under the .500 mark. They begin a three-game set tonight against the woeful Nationals at Nationals Park. Failure to reverse some of these disturbing trends will almost assuredly lead to the same kind of disappointment the Mets suffered last season.
Your humble diarist urged him to explore opportunities to improve the bullpen. He failed to do so, and the Mets’ bullpen has lost three of the team’s ten games since.
Yesterday’s 7-5 loss to Pittsburgh at Shea Stadium was the nadir, as four members of the Amazins’ patchwork bullpen—necessitated by Billy Wagner’s appearance on the disabled list with a strained left forearm—faltered over the final three innings, allowing the Pirates to score six unanswered runs. The Mets remained two games behind Philadelphia in the National League East.
The biggest obstacle in making up that deficit has unquestionably been the atrocious bullpen. In August, the bullpen has surrendered 23 earned runs in 28 innings, equivalent to a 7.39 earned-run average. Interim closer Aaron Heilman has been demoted; he has allowed six earned runs in four-and-a-third innings this month. He has been, by far, the worst of the bunch, and it was he who blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning yesterday afternoon.
The trouble is that manager Jerry Manuel doesn’t have a lot of options. “Everything from here on out is a possibility,” Manuel said after yesterday’s debacle, but what that actually means is unclear.
With Heilman no longer closing games, and Wagner a week away from returning, it is expected that recent call-up Eddie Kunz will be asked to close. Kunz was promoted from Double-A Binghamton on Aug. 4 and has appeared in only three games, all Mets losses, allowing one earned run over two-and-a-third innings. He went 1-4 in Binghamton this season, with a 2.79 E.R.A. and 27 saves.
“I don’t want to put him there in that situation,” Manuel said, referring to the closer’s role, “but he’s got to be considered.”
The Mets could use Brian Stokes, who was called up from Triple-A New Orleans as a spot-starter on Saturday night against Florida, in the bullpen. His bullpen history, however, does not inspire confidence. Last season, as a reliever for Tampa Bay, he went 2-7, with a 7.07 E.R.A. His W.H.I.P. was 1.84, and hitters batted an astounding .403 against him.
A third, more radical option would be to move a starter to the bullpen and call up Jonathon Niese or allow Stokes to remain in that spot in the rotation. Oliver Pérez or John Maine could be moved to the bullpen, but Pérez is 2-2 with a 1.77 E.R.A. since July 1, and Maine will make his first start tomorrow night here in Washington since July 28 after a short stint on the D.L. Messing with his arm by using him out of the bullpen could backfire, leading to ineffectiveness or further injury.
Over the course of the season, the Mets have outscored their opponents by 98 runs over the first three innings of each game. During the next three innings, however, that differential slips to +2. From the seventh inning on, however, the Mets have been outscored by their opponents by a staggering 51 runs.
“We can’t continue to perform this way late in the game,” Manuel said. “We’ve got to do better than that. I’ll just have to make some adjustments.”
The options for Manuel and the Mets, however, are few and far between. If Wagner returns healthy next week, that will help stabilize the ninth inning, but the seventh and eighth will remain in flux. Manuel will likely continue to ride the hot-hand; currently, that is Duaner Sánchez, and, to a lesser extent, Pedro Feliciano. Moving Maine or Pérez to the bullpen at this point in the season, barring a scheduled turn through the rotation that requires only four starters, would be a foolhardy overreaction.
This is largely the same bullpen that helped the Mets squander a seven-game lead over the last two-and-a-half weeks of the 2007 season. Other than relying on the return of Sánchez, Omar Minaya did little to improve this glaring weakness, even during the course of the season. (In all fairness, Wagner was injured on Aug. 2, two days after the trade deadline.)
The Mets’ next 14 games are against clubs with losing records, but the Mets are only 30-33 against teams under the .500 mark. They begin a three-game set tonight against the woeful Nationals at Nationals Park. Failure to reverse some of these disturbing trends will almost assuredly lead to the same kind of disappointment the Mets suffered last season.
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