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June 28, 2009 Latest Post Joe Janish

Mets Game 74: Loss to Yankees

Yankees 4 Mets 2

That whisking sound is coming from a broom brushed against a floor.

The Yankees retrieved bragging rights to New York City by sweeping the Mets in their home park and dominating them in five games out of six. And despite the fact that it was a close game for most of the nine innings, it never once felt as though the Mets had a chance.

Livan Hernandez was certifiably good against a tough Bronx Bombers lineup, going seven innings and allowing three runs on three hits and an uncharacteristic five walks. For a guy who barely made the roster out of spring training, and is supposed to be a fifth starter, that’s not too shabby.

Mariano Rivera joined Trevor Hoffman as the only pitchers to save 500 games, as Mo notched his 500th on this evening. So although the Mets lost, at least we were able to witness history. Yee ha.

Notes

Is Livan the Mets #2 starter? (Fernando Nieve doesn’t count until he makes at least six starts.)

Gary Sheffield stroked two of the Mets’ four hits. Luis Castillo (single) and Fernando Martinez (double) collected the others. Sorry, I meant five Mets hits … Danny Murphy fisted a bloop into left in the final inning.

In case you missed it, Frankie Rodriguez intentionally unintentionally intentionally walked Derek Jeter to load the bases in the ninth inning, then walked Mariano Rivera to force in a run. It was Rivera’s first career RBI.

500th save and first RBI. Not a bad night for Rivera.

Speaking of K-Rod, Luis Castillo did NOT botch a pop fly while he was on the mound. But Alex Cora did.

Danny Murphy (.310 OBP, zero footspeed) was the leadoff batter in this game. Perhaps Jerry Manuel is buying in to my belief that Murphy will one day evolve into Mike Hargrove.

Murphy has really looked great at first base. Except for the dropped balls and poor decisions in regard to chasing grounders and throwing balls across the diamond. But hey, those minor defensive issues are excusable when you have a powerful, productive bat such as his in the lineup.

Tonight’s words of wisdom from my father-in-law:

“I think it’s time we became Yankee fans”.

Tempting …. tempting …

Next Mets Game

The Mets travel to Milwaukee to face the Brewers on Monday night at 7:05 PM. Fernando Nieve faces Braden Looper.

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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. upson June 29, 2009 at 12:29 am
    Actually, Joe, I disagree. Until Frankie walked in Rivera, I firmly believed that the Mets will win tonight. Call me optimist.

    Concerning the lineup, I gave up arguing it a month ago. I also do not mind all the bunting decisions the Mets make. But the thing that made me wonder was pinch-hitting Livan by Reyes to bunt. I’m pretty sure Livan would deliver Castillo to 2nd base easily.

    On a positive note, as much as getting swept by the Yankees hurts, the upcoming series against Brewers and Phillies are more important. After running into Sabathia and Burnett with no Santana, the Mets now have an opportunity to take advantage of favorable match-ups and go at least 5-2 next week.

  2. joejanish June 29, 2009 at 12:35 am
    Upson, bless your optimism. I guess it’s all a matter of perception, and in my case, it seemed like the Yankees were constantly a hit away from blowing the game open, while the Mets couldn’t muster so much as a mild rally.

    At this point in the season, I don’t know that any series is more or less important than any other. The bottom line is, the Mets need to lose less than everyone else, no matter who they’re playing.

  3. mic June 29, 2009 at 12:54 am
    1. The mets JUST beat thew cards 3-4. So where does that rank? MY spin is that against a GOOD hitting club…and the Yanks ARE good, this rag tag Mets team ARE mediocre AND add to that ZERO offense…i mean Sheff is all we have. the DW singles parade will not win games.

    2. Bob Parnall: Yes I would trade him. But not for Mark Derosa. Niese, Meija, Parnall are the best we have. Right now Omar is scrambling to raise the stock of his other pieces through, reassignments and promotions. Antonini is nw in the Pen, kunz is ‘finishing’ in AAA.

    My bet is Kunz, Murph, Nick Evans, Antonnini, Shawn Bowman, Lucas Duda..possibly BObby P. are who he will part with, but i have NO idea who he wants.

    3. Today greatly emphasises how much another bat could make a difference, and D murphy is trying too hard. I’d recommend Nick Evans pschologist.

  4. upson June 29, 2009 at 1:06 am
    Well, at this point my optimism might just as well be stupidity. If at least the defense were a bit better…

    By the way, I agree that every single game is important. Nevertheless, the Brewers and the Phillies are very likely Mets’ direct opponents for a play-off spot and hence each game against them counts twice. Hence, it’s good to know that the match-ups against them look much more favorable than the ones against the Yankees.

  5. isuzudude June 29, 2009 at 8:30 am
    Murphy’s OBP sucks, and Alex Cora’s in a monster slump…yet Luis Castillo continues to bat 8th. Jerry’s favoritism is overwhelming and, despite the horrible lineup the team is forced to field due to injuries, he is costing this team opportunities to win. Seriously, if this season produces nothing else than a new manager, it would have been a success.
  6. Walnutz15 June 29, 2009 at 11:50 am
    For anyone who actually wasted their time at Citi Field this weekend:

    Is it true that they were actually playing the YES network in the bathrooms and concourses throughout the first 5 innings of yesterday’s game (Center Stage/Replay of a Yankee World Series win over the Mets) — as some have alluded to on WFAN?

    Could this POSSIBLY be true?

    ….or is someone trying to rile people up. I simply can’t believe that….and if so, may think about disbanding for awhile.

  7. mic June 29, 2009 at 12:26 pm
    I-DUDE. Sorry but i think Jerry might actually be CEMENTING himself. He read yours & joe’s comments/posts on bullpen options…he ran the guys out there….green, bobby, putz etc, then said heck…i’ll really use everyone …so omar responded with a ‘massacre’. Now JM is lobbying for help…Really its Omar on the seat.

    2. What could Adam Dunn do? provide help/power. CB and DW are #3 hitters, providing gap power. Del is the masher, anther righty masher ala sheff could help.

    3. i think he has eyes for Jason Bay to slot in LF.

    4. Yeah Upson, we get to set our #1 and #2 guys on the Brews…but we STILL need offense. Joe you said the Yanks were 1 hit away…i think the Mets with one swing of Adam Dunns bat might have changed many outcomes too.

  8. Mark June 29, 2009 at 12:46 pm
    Livan is the number two starter right now. Scary, but come on who’s better?

    To Mic I think it’s going to be really really hard for Jason Bay to leave Boston. The Red Sox can go really high on the price and they are starting to negotiate with him now. My bet is that they would hammer something out during the All-Star break.

  9. joejanish June 29, 2009 at 1:15 pm
    The more Jerry Manuel cries the “woe is me” routine, the more he cements himself as next year’s manager. You can’t blame Jerry when he’s surrounded by so many stiffs (according to him).

    Mic – the Yankees’ “one hit away” was a single. Your version of the Mets / Dunn “one hit away” is a homerun. Much harder to hit a ball 400+ feet than a single.

    The Bosox will re-sign Bay before the end of the season. That boat sailed this time last year, when the Mets had the opportunity to acquire Bay from the Pirates but passed. Just like the Mets had opportunities last winter to sign Dunn, Raul Ibanez, Orlando Hudson, etc., etc.

  10. gary s June 29, 2009 at 1:30 pm
    if u were jason bay hitting 81 games vs the green monster where home runs fly out of the ballpark, why would u sign with the mets for 5 years and have to bat in the grand canyon??
  11. gary s June 29, 2009 at 4:00 pm
    joe, excellent points..the mets can’t have it both ways..they cry now about trading prospects for a hitter, but in the offseason they could have signed dunn, ibanez, orlando hudson or bobby abreu but kept crying about monetary restraints.santana fell into our laps via luck, because after the yankees and redsox left the bidding, they had to trade him somewhere.the wilpons should sell the team or fire minaya.injuries are part of the game.it’s pathetic to see manuel cry in the post game show for a hitter.hopefully they will play better this roadtrip, but after seeing church miss 3rd, castillo drop a pop up and the complete disapperance act against the yankees, this seaon can’t end soon enough for me ..
  12. Wendy June 29, 2009 at 4:28 pm
    The way i see it, if the Mets score 3 runs tonight on 8 hits, it will be considered progress.

    Nieve will hopefully give them a good game and the offense will wake up and get to the Brewers early.

  13. isuzudude June 29, 2009 at 4:41 pm
    Mic – It should not have taken Jerry Manuel a year of us screaming at him to realize that he has more than a 4-man bullpen. And if you actually think Jerry is cementing himself into the managerial job because his performance, than you and I are obviously watching different games. He continues to assemble oddjob lineups that make little sense. He continues to make questionable pinch hitting decisions. Last night he actually had Krod pitch to Derek Jeter with a base open and 2 outs with Mariano Rivera on deck. Jerry Manuel is a complete joke, and his constant “woe is me” crap is degrading and annoying. Last night he was laughing and joking around with reporters after getting handily swept and severly outmanaged by the Yankees. What the hell is so funny? Did I miss the punchline? He’s also crying and moaning that the Mets need more offense, but it’s not Omar Minaya batting Luis Castillo 8th, and it’s not Omar continuing to put Fernando Tatis’ cold bat in the lineup, and it’s not Omar continuing to put Murphy in a table-setting role when he can’t get on base any better than the pitcher. Earth to Jerry: your job is to get max performance out of the players you have, not the players you want. And it’s not like Omar can wave a magic wand and supply him with 3 more allstar players. The Mets simply don’t have the resources to acquire what they need to succeed, and would be much better off if they didn’t have a manager who constantly had to indirectly remind us of that. If you are so in love with Bay or Dunn, please explain to us how the Mets are to obtain these players that won’t but them at a serious disadvantage in terms of organizational depth. It seems like you have all the answers but no clue of how to achieve them.

    Gary: I agree that injuries are a part of the game, but I think losing 3 allstar position players, 2 starting rotation pitchers, and a top setup man qualifies as a little more severe than what a team can endure and stay successful in spite of it. Imagine if the Phillies had lost Howard, Utley, Ibanez, Blanton, Myers, and Madson. Would they still be as good as they are now? Furthermore, would they be willing to trade away every last prospect they had to fill all the gaps and cast caution to the wind when it came to safeguarding the future? This is exactly what you’re asking the Mets to do. It’s simply not possible, so just accept it already. THE METS ARE NOT GOOD THIS YEAR BECAUSE THEY HAVE SUFFERED TOO MANY INJURIES. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY WILL NEVER EVER BE GOOD AGAIN. IT JUST MEANS THAT 2009 IS GOING TO SUCK. BUT JUST BECAUSE 2009 SUCKS DOESNT MEAN THE TEAM HAS TO LOSE ITS MIND AND MAKE KNEEJERK TRADES THAT JEOPARDIZE THE FUTURE.

  14. upson June 29, 2009 at 5:16 pm
    ‘dude: As usual, excellent take on Manuel’s incompetence. Case in point: Argenis Reyes leads off tonight with Castillo batting 8th. I have no problem with giving Cora a well deserved day off, but leading off with Reyes, arguably the worst hitter on the roster, is just pure Jerry-ball.
  15. gary s June 30, 2009 at 12:13 am
    idude, thanks for letting me know that 2009 is gonna suck.i had no idea.2008 sucked too and we had all our main guys playing.by the way, are u luis castillo’s agent??
  16. mic June 30, 2009 at 9:06 am
    I-dude owes us a big thank you. We just saved him thousands in psychology expenses 🙂

    – but thanks for showing us (again) that JM is closer to Art Howe/jeff torborg than Bobby Valentine.

    – ‘Mets have 6-7 good prospects’..Maybe this is that oppurtunity as Joe said to trade (say Delgado) for a bunch of prospects….

    -PS: o-dog, Manny, Dunn et al are (potentially) FA this offseason.