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August 23, 2009 Mets 2009 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 123: Loss to Phillies

Phillies 4 Mets 1

This time, the bullpen couldn’t hold the fort.

Phillie killer Tim Redding allowed no runs and only one hit through five frames, giving the bullpen a golden opportunity to hand him and the Mets a win. Four innings was all they had to cover, but one night after shutting down the Phils, the bullpen caved.

Immediately upon being inserted into the game to start the sixth, lefthanded specialist Pat Misch walked Shane Victorino and allowed a homer to Chase Utley to give the Phillies a lead they’d never relinquish.

JA Happ scattered 8 hits through 7 innings to get the win for Philadelphia.

Notes

Luis Castillo collected another two hits, and is now at .317 on the season — fifth in the NL.

Jeff Francoeur scored the Mets’ only run, driven in by Omir Santos.

Jerry Manuel needed six arms to cover those final four frames.

Next Mets Game

Game three of the series begins at 1:10 PM on Sunday. Oliver Perez pitches against Pedro something or another.

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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. isuzudude August 23, 2009 at 10:23 am
    The Phillie Killer was at it again last night, but was inexplicably removed after just 81 pitches and 5 innings. The excuse was because Redding’s been working out of the bullpen recently and wasn’t capable of throwing and extra 20-30 pitches. What a load of crap. First of all, why are we babying Tim Redding? Why do we care about his longterm health? He won’t be a Met after this season so I say, while he’s pitching well, keep sending him out there until his arm falls off. Secondly, he was pitching a dynamite game. You don’t remove a pitcher who’s been dominating the opposition unless he gets into trouble with a high pitch count – and neither one of those 2 prerequisites were met. Thirdly, his replacement on the mound was Pat Misch. Is he really the best option to hold a 1-0 lead in the 6th inning? With 81 pitches under his belt, was Redding really a worse option than Pat f’n Misch? And lastly, you mean to tell me that Tim Redding, after starting for all of April thru June, can’t be pushed past 81 piches now in late August, but somehow Bobby Parnell, who had been relieving all season long until 2 weeks ago, can be pushed to 86 pitches in his 2nd start against San Francisco? Is that the bullsh*t the Mets want us to believe? Exactly whose decision was it to give this game to the Phillies on a silver platter last night by removing Tim Redding prematurely and allowing premier setup reliever Pat Misch to protect a 1 run lead? And just who in this sorry franchise is making the decision to jeopardize the health and future of Bobby Parnell by hanging him out to dry for more pitches he should be throwing while getting pummeled as a starting pitcher? I want to know because not only should that person/those people be fired IMMEDIATELY, but should be ostracized from baseball and sent into outer space never to be seen or heard from again. Absolutely appalling.
  2. Steve August 23, 2009 at 1:00 pm
    Agree 100%. I saw Misch in person against the Diamondbacks and his fastball wasn’t higher than 85MPH. Wait till the Wilpons see ticket sales next year. F-them and Omar and Jerry.
  3. Mike August 23, 2009 at 1:52 pm
    Hey Joe did you see what Matty at Metsblog reported about Thole, Evans and Kunz? Looks like I might be right about the September call-ups.

    I should add that Pagan just hit the inside the parker. That one play has just made my season. Against Pedro, with Victorino making a lazy stupid play: it was perfect. I don’t care about the score, that was the most exciting play of the season for me.

    Also Frenchy has really been great since we got him. That triple was well hit, and he continues to be the only consistent hitter in the line-up. I don’t care about his very low OBP, he just needs to get hits and RBIs.