Game 140: Loss
Dodgers 5 Mets 0
John Maine finally pitched a poor game … but his outing still wan’t anywhere near some of the atrocious outings put forth by, say, Jose Lima, Jeremi Gonzalez, Steve Trachsel, El Duque, or Tommy Glavine.
After Maine gave up two quick runs in the first inning, the rest of the Mets went to sleep. The game was played with such little inspiration, I was equally uninspired to write anything of consequence.
Notes
What are the chances that the Dodgers would have MLB’s third Taiwanese pitcher — Hong-Chih Kuo — on the same night the Mets held Taiwan Appreciation Day? Who even knew there was such a thing as Taiwan Appreciation Day at Shea? There had to be some agreement between the Mets and Dodgers on this one … it’s all too coincidental. Not that there would be anything wrong with such manipulation … in fact, if it was done on purpose, kudos to both teams for pulling it off.
David Wright was the only Met with more than one hit — he had two — but he also threw the ball away in the first to ignite the Dodgers’ initial rally. The Mets as a team played very shoddy defense; it was as if everyone were half-asleep or uninterested. Chalk this up as another example of why greenies should not be banned from the clubhouse.
John Maine didn’t really pitch that poorly … in fact only two of the runs he gave up were earned (both on solo homers). The fact that this was one of his worst outings is an indication of how good he has become in the second half of 2006.
Heath Bell made the most of his two innings of relief in mopup duty, striking out one and allowing no one to reach base on only 19 pitches — 15 for strikes. Unfortunately, these are the only types of games he’ll get into for the rest of the year, so even if he strikes out every batter he faces on three pitches, no one will notice nor care. Shame, really, that his talent has been completely wasted by Mr. Willie over the last two years. He is a guy who is every bit as good as Roberto Hernandez, yet if gives up a run in a meaningful appearance, Randolph pulls him out and banishes him to Norfolk for two weeks. Bert, meanwhile, will be given the ball the very next day in the eighth inning of a tie ballgame. Yes, I realize that Bert earned that right by being successful in the past, but how is Bell ever going to earn anything if he is never trusted in a tight ballgame? The worst part of all this is that Bell likely will be released in the winter, or dealt away, and he’ll become a Dan Wheeler or Scott Proctor for someone else. Too bad Omar would never consider giving Heilman a shot to start in 2007 and plan on using Bell in the late innings. My fantasies remain alive …
