Mets Game 140: Win Over Brewers

Mets 9 Brewers 2

Sweep!

The Mets pulled off another sweep, this time in Milwaukee as they battered the Brewers.

The game was over before Oliver Perez stepped on the mound, as the Mets exploded for six runs in the first frame off Milwaukee starter and loser David Bush. The biggest blow came off the bat of Ryan Church, who sent a line drive over the right-center fence for a grand salami. Is it safe to say Church is “back on track” ?

Ollie pitched well, looking much better than in his last start, spinning six and two-thirds while allowing only two runs. Remarkably, he did not induce one ground ball out during his time on the mound.

The Mets bullpen shut out the Brewers the rest of the way without incident.

Notes

Dan Murphy continues to stroke the ball consistently and get on base. He went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored.

Strangely, the only other Met with at least two hits was Brian “Sluggo” Schneider, who blasted his 7th homer of the year.

With a 6-1 lead in the sixth and Oliver Perez in minor trouble, Duaner Sanchez — who pitched an inning on Tuesday — was the first man warming up in the bullpen. So … what was the point of adding Carlos Muniz, Bobby Parnell, Brandon Knight, and Ricardo Rincon to the roster? Does it have to be a 10-run game for these guys to get an opportunity? Baffling.

More baffling, with a six-run lead in the 8th, Sanchez came into the game. Based on what I’ve seen of Sanchez over the last month, he needs rest, not more work. And the head-scratching continued in the ninth. After the Mets tacked on another run, increasing the lead to seven, instead of seeing Parnell or Muniz finish the game, Scott Schoeneweis strode to the mound. Looked a lot like something Jerry Manuel’s predecessor would have done, eh? But hey, for all we know, both Parnell and Muniz are nursing injuries, and that’s why we didn’t see them.

As Keith Hernandez astutely pointed out, David Wright absolutely must work in BP on shortening his swing and hitting to right field. The Mets need him to get back on track for the final stretch of the season.

Speaking of, I noticed something else about Wright (yesterday I pointed out his “overload” of the hands). Earlier in the year — and throughout his MLB career — he would step slightly early, but keep his weight back, kind of doing a toe-tap with his front foot as he waited and made his decision to commit to a swing or not. Lately, his stride and swing have looked smoother — he strides, and his hands immediately start forward. It may look smoother, but it’s not necessarily better. He may be better off going back to the early stride and toe-tap — it’s worked for four years at least.

The Scho’s new mustache is terrible. Absolutely terrible. It looks like a paste-on stache, like the one they gave away last year for Keith’s Mustache Day.

Next Game

The Mets have a day off on Thursday, then open their last series against the Phillies at Shea on Friday night at 7:10 pm. Mike Pelfrey goes to the hill against Brett Myers.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
  1. isuzudude September 4, 2008 at 6:13 am
    We’ll know who to blame if the Mets make the playoffs and the bullpen still acts as tired as they have since the all-star break. Don’t expect to hear a word of criticism, though, from the fellas at SNY.

    I know that Keith is a fan favorite and all, but he has got to be the most unprepared broadcaster in all of baseball. Sometime during the game’s “lull” period yesterday (as stated by Keith), Gary thought it would be fun to recount all of the players who batted 7th for the Mets during the season and see how many Keith could remember. Isn’t it Keith’s job to keep track of this team and know this stuff? He couldn’t name (Brady) Clark, (Raul) Casanova, or (Andy) Phillips. I’m sitting there shaking my head wondering how in the world Keith keeps his job, what between his yawns and his forgetful spells.

    We get the calm before the storm today. The Phillies pretty much know their season is riding on this upcoming series. Even though they had a bigger lead to overcome last year with less time to catch up, 2008 presents them with no further head to head matchups with the Mets after this weekend, and it also has the Mets pretty much playing their best baseball of the season right now. Things may appear similar to last year around this time – when we all know what woud up happening – but appearances can be very decieving. I’m finding it harder and harder to believe that this Met team can come crashing down like they did in ’07. But I guess anything is possible…

  2. joe September 4, 2008 at 8:15 am
    I caught that 7th batter thing too, but didn’t want to get on Keith because I’m already criticized for being “too negative”. I was yelling out “Raul! Brady! etc.” at the TV like it was a game show and the nimrod contestant didn’t know the answers to easy questions.

    After last year, I think we’ve all learned to stay on the edge of our seats until game 162.

  3. Micalpalyn September 4, 2008 at 10:29 am
    Nice win yesterday. The Brews have been right behind the Cubs all season as possibly the 2nd best NL team. we went there without Maine and Wagner and swept. Motivation- yes I think the fact that the Mets have basically made up ground to the extent that the winner of the WC race is not cut and dried anymore.

    The mets have also won 16-21. That easily could have been 19-21. at the start of this series I said the mets are starting to peak. If the BP can keep it together the Mets could really roll over the competition down the stretch and still have time to get healthy. The Phils are playing well though, but i think the Mets are better. BUT just as the Mets are better for having more arms, so too the Phils.
    On sanchez: That was a suprise but then i think Manuel was/is still trying to get his first line relievers work. Sho and Sanchez have been precipitous. Figgy and Stokes have definately taken pressure off those two and Heilman.

    This was interesting too. note how high the brews were.
    http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/powerRankings

  4. joe September 4, 2008 at 12:18 pm
    Manuel is trying to get his first line relievers work? Because leading the NL in appearances isn’t enough work?

    Do we really believe any of Duaner / Heilman / Scho / Smith / Feliciano need MORE work?

  5. Micalpalyn September 4, 2008 at 3:21 pm
    wagners resting…:)

    My point is that they still need to pitch. They cant sit out for a month either…(reference to Billy W).