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Reports are coming in that several Mets (David Wright, Brian Schneider, Fernando Tatis, Robinson Cancel, and even Carlos Delgado) are taking some early batting practice. Apparently, Delgado didn’t do much of that during Willie Randolph’s reign as manager. The reports also say that Jerry Manuel is with the players running the show.
Another great game by Johan Santana was wasted today. He went seven shutout innings giving up three hits and three walks with ten strikeouts. Joe Smith was terrible in the eighth inning giving up two walks and two hits in .2 innings. Two runs scored on him.
Billy Wagner blew the save in the ninth inning allowing two runs to score on two hits and two walks. Then Aaron Heilman threw gas on the fire in the tenth inning. Justin Upton doubled off him, moved to third on a sacrifice, then scored on a sacrifice fly.
The Mets offense came on a solo homer by Ramon Castro in the second inning off Dan Haren. David Wright doubled in Endy Chavez in the third inning but was thrown out going for third base. Fernando Tatis hit a two run single in the seventh inning.
The Mets lose the home series to the struggling D-Backs and have the Texas Rangers coming to town for a weekend series.
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The Philadelphia Phillies are starting to pull away from the pack in the National League East. They’re now 6.5 games ahead of the fourth place Mets. Actually, the Mets record is closer to the last place Washington Nationals than it is the first place Phillies.
Despite the Mets early season problems, I’ve been telling myself “It’s still early in the season” and “We’re still within striking distance of first place”. But neither of those statements is true anymore. It’s not early in the season anymore, and we’re not within striking distance of first place.
The Phillies are 8-2 in their last ten games and the Mets are 5-5, a microcosm of their season. Just wading along waiting for some player to catch fire but it doesn’t happen. The Mets have scored 54 fewer runs than the Phillies this season, and the Mets dismal 13-20 road record is the mark of a team going nowhere.
Two weeks ago the Wilpons met with Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya to discuss the state of the team. There was a brief surge and blast of energy by the team, mostly by bench players including Fernando Tatis and Endy Chavez.
But the bench players have been exposed as who they are. Good bench players that are better off seen in small doses. The Mets regulars just can’t get anything going on a consistent basis offensively.
Without changes made, this team will continue to scuffle along at or near .500. It’s time for Minaya to make a move, whether it be letting hitting coach Howard Johnson go or bring in an offensive player like a Kevin Millar. Or maybe it’s time to get more drastic and let Randolph go… Before the season is completely lost.
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Fernando Tatis has electrified Mets fans with his offensive ability over his short stint with the Mets, 19 days to be exact. In that time he’s managed two game winning hits in the last four days. His “late and close” hitting has been impressive and New York Mets manager Willie Randolph sure needed it.
Randolph was called on the carpet by the Mets owners less than a week ago for running the highest paid team in the National League into a sub .500 record. I don’t know the exact contents of that conversation or if an ultimatum was given to Randolph. But I’m sure that one was was implied by the Mets owner. Randolph was left needing a player to make a difference quickly. I doubt that he ever thought that player would be Tatis.
Tatis has been in and out of the major leagues for the last five years and spent the entire 2007 season at Triple-A New Orleans. His presence has been felt like a bolt of lightning striking energy into an unispired Mets team over the last three weeks. He came through with a run scoring single off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jonathan Broxton yesterday in the eighth inning. And he hit a two run double on Wednesday against the Florida Marlins to secure a 7-6 win in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Mets had fallen behind by one run in the top of the 12th. Continue reading “Fernando Tatis Proving Late And Close Ability”
I thought this game was completely out of hand for the Mets through seven innings. Chad Billingsley was cruising. He only gave up four hits and three walks through seven. But he had thrown 109 pitches and Joe Torre decided to take him out of the game. And that was all that the Mets needed.
After doing nothing offensively for the first seven innings, the Mets came alive against Jonathan Broxton. David Wright doubled and Carlos Beltran hit a huge home run off the scoreboard in right. It was about half way up the board like one of the old Darryl Strawberry shots. Carlos Delgado then singled, and Nick Evans pinch ran for him. Again, Fernando Tatis came up with a big hit to score Evans. I can’t believe how clutch Tatis has been.
Mike Pelfrey had a decent game overall even though it was a rough start. The Dodgers scored one in the first and one in the fourth. His line ended up looking good though, two runs over seven innings is a nice start. He looked like he was taking something off the fastball to try to throw more strikes, at least initially. We’ll see if it was enough to keep him on the roster when Pedro Martinez comes off on Tuesday.
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The Mets might be onto something sitting Carlos Delgado against lefties. Damion Easley can play first, so can Nick Evans and Fernando Tatis. All are right handed hitters that can drive the ball. Evans may be a little over matched right now but I’d like to see him continue to get at-bats to see what he can do.
Delgado tells the New York Post that he doesn’t like the platoon idea:
“We’re gonna have to talk,” Delgado said yesterday when asked how he would respond to Randolph about platooning against lefties. “Obviously, I would not talk to you before I talk to him. I haven’t said anything, but I want to make it clear.”
“I don’t want to sound like I’m challenging anybody, but it’s true, I would have to talk to [Randolph] about that,” Delgado said.
It may not be up to him anymore. The Wilpons and Omar Minaya must’ve made it clear to Randolph that he has to do what’s best for the team or he could lose his job as manager. That means that there may be some bruised egos along the way.
If the Mets turn things around this season, mark this date on your calendar. The Met have their first come from behind win after the seventh inning this season. Fernando Tatis had the big hit off Justin Miller to score Carlos Beltran for the win.
There are so many things to talk about in this game. Endy Chavez hit a pinch hit solo homer in the ninth inning to tie the game and send it to extras. Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes also homered earlier in the game.
I like this lineup much better without Carlos Delgado in there. Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis are doing some nice things at the plate. They were both looking to hit behind runners and lift the ball for sacrifice flies. Those are the little things that you don’t get from Delgado, who’s usually swinging for the fences no matter what the situation dictates.
Aaron Heilman had another really nice outing. He pitched two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth with four strikeouts. It would be great to have him come back to form.
Oliver Perez was his typical unpredictable self tonight. He went six innings giving up five runs on four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. The wheels came off in the sixth inning when he gave up six runs.
For the Marlins, Cody Ross hit two bombs. And I mean bombs. His second home run may have actually damaged Citi Field, it went that far. Both homers were off Perez.
The Mets take the series from the Marlins 2 games to 1. The Dodgers come to town tomorrow.
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