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September 28, 2008 Mets 2008 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 162: Loss to Marlins

Marlins 4 Mets 2

Too little, too late.

Oliver Perez pitched well, but was no Johan Santana. Carlos Beltran was clutch, but was no Ryan Howard. David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, and Jose Reyes combined for two hits in 16 at-bats. Those two and the two by Beltran represented the complete output of the Mets offense for the day.

As a result, the Florida Marlins eliminated the New York Mets from playoff competition in the last game of the season for the second straight year.

To add insult to injury, the most crushing loss of 2008 was a prelude to the “celebration” of Shea Stadium’s closing. What a weird way to say goodbye.

Notes

Endy Chavez made a spectacular snare of a line drive in the seventh to save a run — possibly the second-best catch of his career. Endy is destined to make great catches in losing ballgames.

Next Game

The Mets open the 2009 season in Cincinnati on April 6th. We’ll have plenty to discuss here between now and then.

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.
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  1. Schmidtxc September 28, 2008 at 5:17 pm
    Unbelievable…the season seemed like a waste in june, and then looked so promising after the all-star break. Where do you even begin in the off season this year. We got nothing out of el duque, nothing out of alou, and basically nothing out of pedro. At least we can just let them walk. Perez gives me ulcers watching him pitch…I love having the guy but I don’t want to see him get a big contract. It may be better to let him walk and collect the extra draft pick, while targeting someone with more consistant outputs. As good a pitcher as ben sheets is, can the mets really justify going after an injury plagued starter with a long term contract? Bedard may get non-tendered, would he be a good target? Brad Penny will probably be available as well. I think Derek Lowe would be a perfect fit for the mets.

    I don’t think even omar has a clue what to do with the pen. We’re probably stuck with the show for next season, we can cut ties with heilman, feliciano, stokes, sanchez, and ayala if we want to. Personally, I’d take anything I could get for heilman and feliciano, keep stokes, dump sanchez, and try to sign ayala to a one year deal. If ayala needs more than one year, I’d just let him walk. I can see omar going after guys like cordero, putz, or street on the trade market, and I could deal with any of the three. Personally, I’d like to see us go after k-rod. If we are going to go out and get a closer (and I think it’s obvious we need to), I’d rather see us go after a young durable arm than pay a little less and get a guy like fuentes.

    Castillo will probably be impossible to move…nobody in their right mind will take him. It looks like murphy will be playing some 2nd base this fall in arizona, I’d love to see him given a shot to win that job in the spring if all goes well. I think if we still have jerry manuel around, he’ll be given a shot. If that happens, it will be interesting to see what they do with left field.

    I really hope they resign jerry manuel. I don’t see to many better options than him out there, and at least he shows a willingness to play young guys that are playing better than established vets. He takes alot of heat about the bullpen management, but I think it’s fair to give him a pass due to the fact that it may have been the worst bullpen I can remember the mets ever having. It would be interesting to see how his management would have changed if he had anyone that could get both righties and lefties out.

    As upset as I am with the finish the last two seasons, at least I have a better feeling this year. There is no chance duque or alou are back, pedro is most likely a goner too. It seems like there is at least a good chance castillo will be a 6 million dollar bench player. While I’d rather be rid of him, at least he won’t be entrenched as the starter due to his contract. Murphy looks like he’s ready, and guys like carp, kunz, parnell, evans, and niese will probably be starting the season in buffalo, ready to come up if needed. That makes me feel alot better if the mets go after ben sheets, or an older left fielder. Please though, no pat burrell.

  2. joe September 28, 2008 at 6:10 pm
    Well Schmidt, that’s a lot of conversation … thanks for sharing. We’ll be covering ALL of the topics you bring up in the coming weeks and months. Heck, we don’t have much else to do between now and February.

    As for Manuel, Jon Heyman is reporting that the Mets have already decided to bring him back. So no worries, everyone will be rewarded for missing the postseason and collapsing for the second straight season.

  3. David W. September 28, 2008 at 6:25 pm
    I’m a stats guy and so I’m just not surprised when good teams play badly for a stretch. But I’m really struggling with this one: to blow a late-season lead with seventeen games to go two seasons in a row? Its hard to believe that just two weeks ago, we took two wild games from the Nats and were securely in first place, and then we went 4-6 against the Nats and the Braves, followed by 3-4 against the Cubs and the Marlins. And to score only five runs against the Marlins over three games. Just incredible.

    I’ve been a fan for about 42 years now. I’ve seen long stretches of shoddy play, and the occasional miracle. I’m not at all accustomed to these end-of-the year letdowns. Even losing to the Pirates in the late 80s was acceptable–we were coming from behind, after all.

    So I’m prepared to root for losers–players who lack talent and play at times over their heads (Harrelson remains my all-time favorite). I can’t quite accept rooting for players who appear to be playing under their talent level.

    Yet, damn it, I miss them already. And I’m got my excuses lined up–rookie, late-season call ups playing left, Church hurt and appearing lost on his return, big void at second base, a bullpen that is forced into exhaustion by the starting pitchers and managers who misuse them.

    So what can I say? See you in 2009. Thanks for the great commentary.

  4. joe September 28, 2008 at 6:31 pm
    I’m with you on all points, David. Mainly the one about rooting for guys who play over their head, rather than those who don’t fulfill expectations. Which is kind of why I have trouble with these high-payroll Mets.

    Don’t be a stranger this offseason, David …. we’ll have plenty of conversations flowing here.

  5. Schmidtxc September 28, 2008 at 6:37 pm
    Thanks for running a great blog joe…I look forward to many debates about moves and lack thereof this offseason. I am very happy that the AAA team is moving to buffalo…not only is it closer to NY and Binghamton, but all of their home games stream on their web site. We should have a good crop of names we got to see start next season there. At least we’ll have something to watch during rainouts and nights off.