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June 23, 2009 Mets 2009 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 69: Loss to Cardinals

Cardinals 3 Mets 0

If you were wondering what happens when a bad hitting team runs into a hot pitcher …

Joel Pineiro was magnificent, spinning a complete game, two-hit shutout, the second he’s thrown this season. Pineiro induced 22 ground balls — 21 for outs — and struck out one in completely paralyzing the Mets bats.

The Mets wasted a very good outing by Livan Hernandez, who hurled seven innings of 8-hit, 3-run (2 earned) ball.

Notes

Joel Pineiro has evolved into something of a Met killer. Super.

Pineiro scored the first run of the game on a throwing error by first baseman Danny Murphy. The other two runs scored on a single by Albert Pujols, who now leads MLB with 70 RBI. Wow … 70 RBI in 71 games played … crazy.

Elmer Dessens pitched the final two innings for the Mets, but I didn’t even notice. He held the Redbirds hitless.

The only Mets who hit safely were Luis Castillo and Jeremy Reed, both singles. Reed’s hit was of the pinch variety, and came with one out in the ninth. So he spoiled the one-hitter. Yee ha.

The game was delayed a few times due to rain. The grounds crew reminded me of the Keystone Cops, rolling the tarp on and off the field as the rain clouds came and went.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Cardinals play game three of four on Wednesday evening at 7:10 PM. Fernando Nieve faces Brad Thompson.

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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. Andrew Vazzano June 23, 2009 at 10:35 pm
    Pineiro wasn’t even hot. 1-8 in his last 9 starts.

    It’s just that he’s spectacular against the Mets and Fernando freakin’ Tatis is batting cleanup for this team. Ugh.

  2. Eli From Brooklyn June 23, 2009 at 10:37 pm
    Joel Alberto Pineiro, a career .094 hitter, looked like the other Albert P. on his Cardinals team, using his bat to chalk up two hits.

    The entire Mets team? Well, thanks to Jeremy Reed in the 9th, they had two hits, as well.

    Forgetting the fact that Pineiro needed 100 pitches, got 22 ground ball outs, allowed 2 hits and gave up one walk – the 30 year old pitcher sent Omar Minaya a message tonight stating, “you need a big bat in your lineup.”

    According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Pineiro left his previous start early with cramps due to dehydration. He made up for the lost time tonight and left with his head held high.

    Note to Omar: Get your Rolodex out.

  3. gary s June 23, 2009 at 11:18 pm
    just got home from citifield.i think i saw a major league baseball game..not really sure.”the ship be sinking” to paraphrase the immortal words of ex knick, michael ray richardson.heads up to eli from brooklyn.GET THE ROLODEX OUT,OMAR!!we made joel piniero look like the best pitcher in baseball.they can’t keep rolling out this lineup and expect to win any games.your move, omar!!
  4. murph June 24, 2009 at 12:45 am
    The highlight of the game was when Luis Castillo fielded an infield pop. The sarcastic cheers began before he caught it, and Castillo was smiling as he caught it with TWO hands.
  5. isuzudude June 24, 2009 at 8:40 am
    Eat your heart out, Dontrelle Willis, there’s a new #1 Met killer in town, and his name is Joel Piniero.

    To be fair, I don’t think all the whining on here is justified after the Mets grinded out 14 hits on Monday. So the lineup seemed just fine to everyone then, but a day later it’s garbage? I agree the lineup is not as imposing as it once earlier in the season, but I don’t understand what y’all what Omar to do. I mean, Billy Beane isn’t exactly begging the Mets to take Matt Holliday off his hands. And I’m sorry, but someone like Aubrey Huff or Adam Dunn is not going to single-handedly clean up this mess. Like I said before, it’s time to swallow some pride and accept the mediocrity for a while, because there are no better options on the table right now.

  6. gary s June 24, 2009 at 9:50 am
    dude, 3 points.i know we stink now because of injuries, but last nite was the worst mlb game i have ever seen in person in my life.as far as winning monday, i think that was a fluke.tatis is 1 for 17 with risp and he’s batting cleanup??i know dunn or huff won’t turn the season around, but at least they have some credentials to bat clean up and they will offer wright some protection.third, the wilpons want the season ticket holders to renew for next year.if last nite was a preview of met baseball for the next few months, they are going to lose a lot of season ticket holders that are on the fence for renewing next year at these exorbitant prices..that’s a no no in wilpon land.therefore i predict an acquisition very soon.
  7. Wendy June 24, 2009 at 10:21 am
    Gary,

    Agreed, we do need someone to bat cleanup and give Wright a break, he’s obviously struggling to run right now with his leg injury, so Tatis hitting behind him will be an automatic DP.

  8. isuzudude June 24, 2009 at 10:43 am
    I agree Tatis should not be batting cleanup, and against a RHP I question whether he should be in the lineup at all. But who knows what’s going on with Shef’s knee right now, so how many better options does Jerry really have to bat cleanup? At least by sticking with Tatis he’s showing confidence in him in hopes of turning his season around.

    I also know that Huff and Dunn are leaps and bounds better than anyone the Mets currently have to bat cleanup and provide protection for Wright. But every GM in baseball knows the Mets are desperate, and will demand FMart and/or Niese in return for one of those rentals. Just because the Mets are struggling now doesn’t make it a wise decision to trade anybody and everybody for any kind of power bat. And there is no guarentee that if a power bat is imported that they will provide that immediate spark to the offense you’re looking for. So to bring in Adam Dunn, for example, to help the Mets finish the year 5 games over .500 instead of 2, is that worth sacrificing your 2 best propects? In my mind, that answer is HELL NO.

    And if the Wilpons want to turn the Mets into a sideshow instead of a fundamentally sound, built-for-the-long-haul team with young talent raised from within just to get more ticket sales, they would have told Omar to make a splash a long time ago. Remember, there was a guy named Manny Ramirez available this offseason they failed to pursue. If they didn’t want to give up the goods (whether it be via trade or free agent contract) for him, what makes you think they’ll do it now for a far less attractive talent?

  9. isuzudude June 24, 2009 at 12:06 pm
    My thoughts summed up here: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spken2312909438jun22,0,3325109.column
  10. gary s June 24, 2009 at 1:11 pm
    dude, i agree with u in principle about trading away tomorrow for today.i would only try to get a huff or similar type player if it did not involve a top prospect.i’m still suspect about the wilpons and omar whose goal seems to be to win in the mid eighties and sell tickets, food and overpriced met clothing.as for manny, his salary scared them away and they somehow convinced themselves that danny murphy was a mlb left fielder for the next 10 years and they would be competetive without ramirez.if they cannot play competitively, ticket sales might suffer.imho, this is the engine that drives met management.they want to win a championship, but revenues comes first.we’ll see what happens the next 2-3 weeks..