Mets Game 73: Loss to Yankees
Yankees 5 Mets 0
It wasn’t even that close.
The Yankees won the game by only five runs, but it may as well have been fifty.
Following up his fine start against the Mets two weeks ago, A.J. Burnett was even better. He was brilliant, and nearly unhittable. Nearly, because the Mets were able to scratch out one measly base hit against him in seven innings, whiffing ten times in the process. Once he left the game, you’d think the Mets might fare better against Bob Bruney and David Robertson, but it was not to be — that one single off the bat of Alex Cora would be the only one of the evening for the Metropolitans.
Mets starter Tim Redding was mildly effective through his first five innings, but fell apart facing the Bombers the third time through the order. Redding allowed four runs in the sixth and five runs total in his five and a third innings of work.
Notes
Brian Stokes, Pat Misch, and Elmer Dessens — aka “the bottom of the barrel” — shut out the Yankees over the final 3 2/3 innings. I think the Yanks simply lost interest, perhaps sent into a state of depression from watching the feeble Mets’ “offense”. Or maybe that was me.
In the words of my father-in-law, who had the sense to be viewing a rerun of Deadliest Warrior on Spike TV instead of the Mets game (William Wallace vs. Shaka Zulu, I believe):
“Only one hit? One hit? That’s embarrassing. A disgrace. You can’t do that as a New York team, especially playing against the other New York team.”
Yeah, well, it was, and, they did.
At the time, I doubted his decision to watch a repeat of overgrown D&D ubergeeks simulate fantasy battles with war hammers, spit poison, and ball and chains while there was a very REAL battle going on at Citi Field, but on second thought ….
Next Mets Game
The series finale begins at 8:05 PM, with Livan Hernandez going against Chien-Ming Wang — and with the way things are going, Wang is suddenly a pitcher that could give the Mets trouble. To add insult to injury, the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
I may have Spike TV running on the “picture in picture”.
About the Author
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.
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Joe; your father-in-law sounds like a very wise gentleman. At this rate it appears that this division is going to replicate the ’73 NL East. The best 83-79 team moves forward a half step.
I chose to re-watch 40-Year Old Virgin and Borat on USA network instead of the Mets. Everytime a commercial came on I’d flip back to the game and it was like going back and forth between a comedy and a tragedy. Although it got tougher and tougher to tell which was which…
Two other issues…
1. It’s amazing how Jerry depicts Argenis Reyes as a suitable replacement for Dan Murphy in the #2 spot in the lineup, but when Castillo and his .380 OBP plays, he has to bat 8th. And when, exactly, will Alex Cora with his torn thumb ligament ever get a day off?
2. Mark DeRosa was traded last night to St Louis, so scratch him off your trade wish lists. The Cardinals parted with relief pitcher Chris Perez and a player to be named later to get DeRosa. The best ‘prospect’ the Mets have who resembles Perez is Parnell, although Perez has compiled much better numbers thus far, in both the minors and majors. For all you folks hammering Omar for not making a deal, the sad truth is the Mets don’t even have enough pieces to acquire a utility player like DeRosa.
the more they play, the more the junior varsity is being exposed.as are mediocre pitchers like redding and pelfrey.and u can add perez and maine into the mix.all of these guys are six inning pitchers and by extension bullpen killers.hopefully in 2010, this team will get a major makeover.memo to my main man david wright: how came every other team’s big guys can hit home runs in citifield, but u can’t.just one more example of our players being weak minded.thanks again to the wilpons and jerry manuel for creating a homefield DISADVANTAGE!!gotta go, i have to find a good movie to watch at 8pm tonite.
I’ll take the bait, gary.
I think you’re being too harsh on the wrong parties. Redding is a mediocre pitcher, I’ll give you that. But Pelfrey is not. Don’t forget that he’s only 25, he’s only in his 2nd full big league season, and touches 95 MPH. He’ll have his ups and downs but on a good team he’s a 12+ win pitcher (13-11 last year), and that’s far from mediocre.
You are right that most of the rotation is comprised of ‘bullpen killers,’ which is why I thought adding a workhorse like Derek Lowe this past offseason was a great idea. But to be fair, he’s avering under 6 innings per start this year, too. But I wouldn’t call him mediocre. Nor would I call Cole Hamels or Ricky Nolasco mediocre, both of whom are also averaging under 6 innings per start this year. So you say you want a major overhaul for next year, which I assume means shedding all the pitchers who can’t average 6 innings or more per start. Does that mean dropping everyone not named Johan Santana? And how are the Mets acquiring all these 6+ inning starters? Who’s available for a price the Mets can afford that will improve the rotation? I’m all ears.
Perhaps the reason why the pitchers aren’t going past 6 innings isn’t because of their own restrictions, but because the manager is obsessed with tracking pitch counts and going to the bullpen way too early. Ever think of that?
And yes, it sucks David Wright isn’t hitting for power. But he IS hitting a league high .346! And his OBP IS the 2nd highest in the NL at .434! And he IS on pace to steal over 40 bases! Do those numbers also make him ‘weak minded?’ And Wright’s not the only Met seeing his power numbers decline because of Citi’s dimensions (although, the away numbers aren’t much better). See Ryan Church. See Carlos Beltran. See Fernando Tatis. So why feel the need to single out Wright, especially since he’s the one excelling in most other areas of his offensive game while most others on the team are lacking? Makes no sense.
And as for home disadvantage, you need to check the facts. The Mets are 22-16 at home, which puts them behind only the Dodgers and Giants for best home record in the NL. So how does that appear to be a disadvantage to you? If the team’s strength is speed and their pitchers are prone to flyballs, doesn’t it make sense to build a bigger ballpark which creates more opportunity for triples and provides more space for outfielders to catch flyballs?
You sound very much like a frustrated fan taking out his anger on all the wrong people. And you have a justifiable excuse, as the Mets are a very frustrating team to watch this year. But please, be fair with your criticism and keep your chin up. A tough season like this is sure to build character, for the players and fans alike.
dude, no offense, but u are watching borat and the 40 year old virgin while mets vs yankees are playing and I’M THE FRUSTRATED FAN!!u sound like u got a pretty good dose of frustrated met fan disease also.as far as tough seasons building character, after the last 2 season finishes i’ve built enough character to last a lifetime.i find this team and the moves or non moves this organization make depressing.wrights .346 and .434 oba are fine.having your ownership design a park to turn u into a singles hitter is not fine.wright has already been qouted as saying the place is a joke for hitters like him and than got scared and denied it.did u see the philles put up a huge fence in right field or left field to take homers from any of their big boppers??nope.that’s not frustration in my posts, that’s the reality of being a met fan and watching this team..dude, i like your baseball analysis.u are usually spot on..please stay out of the people analysis business.
still think pelfrey is mediocre, gary?