WFAN’s Ed Coleman talks to Mike and the Mad Dog after the game. Billy Wagner has the same beef that Paul LoDuca had last season. Some players disappear after the game and won’t talk to the press. The issue specifically today was that Carlos Delgado left quickly after the game without talking to the media. Listen to the full story at the WFAN link below. Wagner also spoke his mind to ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay after the game. Read David Lennon’s account of the interview at Newsday.
Nelson Figueroa didn’t solidify his position on the team tonight at all. He was wild giving up five walks and made a costly throwing error with the bases loaded. Figueroa gave up six runs, four were earned after his own error and a sloppy fielding error by Carlos Delgado.
Jorge Sosa came into the game in the sixth inning and threw some gas on the fire. He was just as awful as he’s been all season long, giving up four runs in the inning. Joe Smith struck out the side in the eighth making it more difficult to send him to the minors when Matt Wise comes back. The SNY team reported that Wise was sent back to Florida even though he’s healthy and ready to pitch.
The Washington Nationals were hitting everything from Figueroa and Sosa. When they weren’t hitting, they were taking walks. It was an ugly game for the Mets to lose to the lowly Nats. Odalis Perez, the pitcher, went 3 for 3. That’s how bad the Mets pitchers were tonight. Need I say more?
I have to comment on Elijah Dukes chanting in the dugout when the Nats were batting. I haven’t seen anything like that since Little League. I was hoping Billy Wagner would put one in his rib cage when he pinch hit in the ninth inning. That was completely Bush League.
As usual, the double header was split between the Mets and Reds today. That’s exactly the reason that the Mets tried to get the game in despite the rain last night. Double headers are almost always split.
The good news in this game is that Mike Pelfrey pitched really well and kept the Mets in the game through six innings giving up only two runs. That’s something for Pelfrey to build upon.
The bad news was that the Mets only got four hits in the game. Bronson Arroyo was on tonight even though he’s had a terrible season. He’s had a few starts that were fair this season, but this was by far his best game yet. There’s not much that you can do when a pitcher is on like that.
Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner didn’t have it tonight. Wagner was hurt by some poor fielding though.
The Mets absolutely must win the rubber game tomorrow. They cannot lose a home series to the Reds. That would be a terrible sign if they did.
Listen to Wagner’s weekly spot on ESPN Radio with Michael Kay.
New York Mets (16-13) at Los Angeles Dodgers (17-14) 10:10pm
Oliver Perez (2-2) vs. Chad Billingsley (1-4)
What to watch: Get ready for some late night baseball tonight and tomorrow night. The Mets go into LA riding high off a series win in Arizona. Oliver Perez really needs to rebound from his 1.2 inning start last Wednesday. That horrible start led to Billy Wagner sounding off about Perez and the state of the team. Perez is in a contract year too. So if he expects to get a long term contract next year, he needs to start pitching like he wants it.
The biggest story with the New York Mets over the last week has been closer Billy Wagner ripping Oliver Perez after Perez’ dreadful start against the Pirates on Wednesday. It’s raised many questions about the Mets as a team.
Do the Mets need a team captain?– They could probably use a team captain but I don’t know who would be the logical candidate. They would want someone that’s going to be around for several years like Jose Reyes, David Wright, Johan Santana, or Carlos Beltran. I doubt that it would be Santana. Typically, captains are position players. Wright and Reyes are pretty young to captain a team of veterans. Beltran is usually so quiet that it’s hard to picture him as the team leader. I don’t think that Billy Wagner would even enter the discussion on this topic. Continue reading “Mets Pitcher Billy Wagner: Bully Or Team Leader?”
The Mets Report 