Mets Game 86: Win Over Reds
Mets 4 Reds 0
The Jeff Francoeur Era has begun — and it’s begun with a bang.
Sparked by Francoeur’s spectacular defense, ICBM-like warmup throws between innings, and clutch hitting, the Mets ravaged the Reds 4-0.
Francoeur wasted no time in establishing himself as the team’s new star and face of the franchise, making a nearly impossible play look routine on the first play of the game. A few minutes later, he blasted a two-run single to give the Mets a lead they’d never relinquish.
Also contributing to the victory was Johan Santana, who spun seven innings of shutout ball. Santana allowed only 5 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 5 en route to his 10th win of the season.
Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez pitched impeccably in the final two frames to secure the game for the Mets.
Notes
The Mets are now 1-0 with Jeff Francoeur. That’s a 1.000 winning percentage, for those keeping score at home. Say all you want about Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, etc., etc., but NONE of those players have a perfect record.
Angel Pagan went 2-for-4 with a triple, 2 runs scored, and two stolen bases, an effort that will super-glue Jeremy Reed’s butt to the bench until Pagan’s next injury. Though, Reed did wrap a single in his only at-bat in the bottom of the eighth.
Omir Santos had three hits and an RBI.
Who says Jeff Francoeur swings at everything? Frenchy saw 17 pitches in four plate appearances — that was three more than Luis Castillo, who sees more pitches per at-bat than just about anybody.
Francoeur’s presence in right field had an immediate impact, as not one Reds runner attempted to take an extra base on a ball hit to him.
Ryan Church was 0-for-4 in his debut with the Braves in Colorado. This deal is already panning out in the Mets’ favor.
In other NL East news, the Phillies scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Pirates 8-7, so the Mets did not gain any ground. The Phillies are sooo lucky.
Next Mets Game
The rubber match occurs at 1:10 PM on Sunday afternoon. Jeff Francoeur will play right field for the Mets and Mike Pelfrey will pitch. Aaron Harang tosses for Cincinnati in the final game before the All-Star break.
This blog has no intelligent analysis, if you haven’t yet noticed. I gave up on that when Jerry Manuel gave up on his 25-man roster. Most of the good stuff comes from the readership / commenters — I merely start the conversation.
Yes Ryan Church got ill-treated by the Mets and is a fine role-player but I don’t see why Francoeur incites all this hatred. Will he be a difference maker for this team? Probably not. But the potential for him to be one is there, while with Ryan Church it’s guaranteed he will not make a difference on this team.
Is it just because Omar Minaya made this decision?
The truth is, I am a big Francoeur fan, despite his shortcomings, and have been since the first day he came up to the big leagues. I like him and hope like hell he can succeed in NYC with the Mets.
Oh and as long as you bring it up, was Ryan Church a difference-maker for the first 50 games of last season? Those mixing up and passing out the Kool-Aid have done a great job of making people forget about that “vignette” of Church’s career. It’s no coincidence that Church was a “Willie guy” and was in the organization’s doghouse after Willie was fired.
Another factor that can’t be overstated is Angel Pagan in the leadoff spot. On his leadoff triple in the second, it was plainly obvious that he was thinking “three” right out of the box. He may not have the acceleration of Jose Reyes, but he was plenty fast coming around first on that hit. It was fun to watch.
Nice to see Santana get the win, too.
In fact, the best run the Mets had this season was in May with Pagan playing regurlarly. Despite Reyes and Delgado going down, along with Beltran, Church and Cora missing time, Angel helped the Amazins to an awesome 19-9 May. Pagan was hurt Memorial Day weekend against the Fish. Angel needs to stay healthy as injuries appear to be his kryptonite. I view him as “Tron Lite”.
As for “Fran-Cur”, perhaps he will be the spark that lights the fuse for this team. Although in the limited time I’ve watched Jeff hit this season, he seems to be dropping his hands and getting under the ball. It might explain his “blast” bloop single, pop up to the catcher and whiff where he swung under the ball. I assume Hojo didn’t make the claim that he could fix Frenchy’s mechanics in “five seconds” like the Jacket did with Zambrano back in 2005.
Let’s win a series today and spend the next five days talking about all of the positive things that the Mets have going for them in the second half of the season.
Or not.
nwaldrop: I echo your sentiments regarding the venom, although most of that venom seems to be spewing from the Atlanta blogs more than the NY. But despite his flaws on the field, how is Francoeur not a likable guy? He’s smiling all the time, he’s a hustler, he’s a get-down-and-dirty player, a hard worker, a good looking guy. He’s got great tools and a positive attitude. Church was all those things too, for the most part, but it seems like, because of recent performance, many fans are choosing to overlook Francoeur’s positives while focusing only on Church’s. And I do agree wholeheartedly that a large reason many Met fans are coming out against the deal is because it has Omar’s stamp on it. And that’s totally absurd. Can people at least wait a month before completely denouncing the trade?
Sk & c-dog: agree on Pagan. He’s no all-star, and if given 500 ABs I doubt he’d maintain his production. But he does give the Mets a spark when he’s in the lineup, and positive results have followed when he’s in the game. His emergence, along with Francoeur’s acquisition, now gives Jerry no excuse to tinker with the lineup on a daily basis. Until the cavalry arrives, it should be Pagan, Castillo, Wright, Sheffield, Francoeur, and Murphy in the top 6 spots pretty much every day. But with Jerry’s antics, it’s probably just a matter of time before Cora is back in the leadoff spot, Murphy is back up to #2, Tatis is thrust into the 5 hole, and Castillo is dropped to 8th. And then the avalanche of 2009 will be right back on course.
you should be nice to all the players, coaches, front office-types, and owners. they’re trying their hardest to make mets fans smile. so unless you are a cobra-snake, you don’t need all the venom. plus, things like sarcasm and satire and irony make baby jesus cry. even adult jesus. please don’t do that. also, some people are dumb and don’t get sarcasm, like baby jesus and grown-up jesus. only smarty-pants elitists like that stuff. go back to france in your volvo and drink a latte. but don’t take francouer with you, because he’s undefeated.
hey adrock – I hear that Baby Jesus is tearing up minor league pitching. Another great find from Omar adn Tony B!!!
Forgive me!!!!