Mets Game 27: Win Over Reds
Mets 5 Reds 4
They went ahead, they fell behind, they fought back … and in the end, they won.
The Mets and Reds went back and forth all game, and by the time the 27th out was recorded, the Mets were the team remaining standing, thanks to a solo blast by homerun king Rod “Piazza” Barajas.
Game Notes
John Maine spun his best start of the year, going 6 innings and allowing just one earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6 in the process. No, I’m not terribly impressed, and chalking it up to the benefit of the same youthful and over-aggressive Reds lineup that made Oliver Perez look acceptable on Monday night. Maybe that’s being negative, but I prefer “realistic”. In any case, I’ll take it, but at the same time will not adjust my low expectations for Maine.
Gotta love the tenacity of these 2010 Mets — something we haven’t seen since … well, since I can’t remember when.
Jose Reyes had two hits, and seems to be shaking the rust off, both offensively and defensively. Now if only stubborn Jerry Manuel will move him back to the leadoff spot, we may be on to something.
The Mets were an impressive 2-for-6 with RISP and left only 4 men on base. Though, the stats-focused sabermetrician Jerry Manuel might let you know that those numbers suggest the Mets didn’t put many men on base in the first place.
Fernando Nieve allowed back-to-back homers in the 8th to allow the Reds to tie the game. I can’t for the life of me figure out how Nieve could be so ineffective — it’s not like he’s been overused or anything.
For the record, Nieve is now on pace to appear in 102 games this season. Maybe I’m harping on the subject, or maybe I’m pointing out something incredibly irresponsible.
Next Mets Game
The rubber match occurs in Cincinnati on Wednesday night at 12:35 PM on Cinco de Mayo. Jon Niese faces Johnny Cueto.
Frank Catalanotto; age 36. Current average .136, OPB .174, SLG .182. OPS .359. Zero home runs with 1 walk and 4 strike outs.
Chris Carter, age 27. Current average .348, OPB .402, SLG .591, OPS .993. 4 home runs, 17 RBIs with 7 walks and only 8 K’s.
A few weeks back, the Mets brought up Ike Davis. The team promptly went 10-1. Today would be a great day to bring up Chris Carter and DFA F-Cat. Then give struggling Jason Bay a day off. Carter would totally change the dynamics of the lineup as well as make the bench much deeper and dangerous. Change is good.
Who would have thought that a player signed to a minor league contract would be leading the Mets in home runs thru May 4th? Rod Barajas has made the Bengie Molina fiasco a distant memory with his clutch hitting, power, and competent defense thus far. He’s no all-star but he sure does the most with what talents he has.
I don’t know if anyone else saw, but I wanted to mention 2 other things in the news:
1. Mike Pelfrey had to undergo an MRI and skip a side session because of pain in his throwing arm. Uh-oh.
2. Kelvim Escobar underwent season ending shoulder surgery this week. Another great way Omar has put $1.25 million to use, in my opinion. Right up there with spending $2-mil each on GMJ and Cora
Last August, when rumors were swirling about Wags going to Boston, I recall YOU being the guy who picked Chris Carter as the player the Mets should grab. How cool was that? I know that I was impressed.
And since we know that Omar & Co. never eat bad contracts (Ollie) or continue to run out players who under-perform because they’re the only player left from a terrible trade (Green), perhaps Carter may soon get a shot. He certainly falls into category ‘B’.