Mets Game 44: Win Over Yankees
Mets 5 Yankees 3
Jerry Manuel remains employed for another night.
The Mets went ahead early, carried on the back of Jason Bay and rolling behind the outstanding pitching of Mike Pelfrey. There was a tense moment in the 8th, but Francisco Rodriguez came on with the bases loaded and ended both the threat and the inning.
Game Notes
Mike Pelfrey was excellent through 6 frames, allowing only 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. He threw 108 pitches, and if it were me I might’ve let him pitch a seventh inning. But thanks to modern technology and training habits the kids can’t go that far any more.
Jason Bay was on fire, going 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored. He is now officially on a hot streak, and may carry the team and Jerry Manuel’s employment for another week or so.
Gary Matthews Jr. struck out again in his only at-bat. I was gone a week and his batting average jumped to .180. Someone fill me in — he’s closing the gap between himself and Jose Reyes. Yikes.
Reyes, by the way, was a very quiet 2-for-5. He tried to stretch a single into a double to end the 8th, and was out by 15 feet. I guess it’s been a while since he’s run the bases.
Angel Pagan went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and a run scored. If Carlos Beltran ever returns, Jeff Francoeur may find himself on the bench.
Francoeur, by the way, was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. He’s now hitting .215 with a .274 OBP. But, his presence in RF did keep the Yankees from trying to score at least twice during the game. Still, he’s going to have to get that bat going to stay in the lineup.
Did I miss something while I was away, or is Chris Carter still on the roster? It was strange not to see him make an appearance in this game at some point. Jerry Manuel opted for Alex Cora in a big pinch-hitting situation in the 6th, and Cora rapped a key, two-out, RBI single, but it seemed like a place for The Animal. I guess that’s why Manuel is so smart.
K-Rod recorded a five-out save, coming into the game with the Mets up by 3 and the bases loaded in the 8th. If that doesn’t smell of desperation from Jerry Manuel then I don’t know what does. Yes, I understand that the Mets didn’t have any other relievers to rely on in that situation but, um, that might have something to do with the Game Seven management of the ‘pen from Opening Day through now.
Next Mets Game
The final game of the “Subway Series” will begin at 8:05 PM on Sunday night, televised by ESPN. It will be a matchup of the aces, as Johan Santana faces C.C. Sabathia.
Though, Omar should not escape harsh criticism, either. We all knew in December that a rotation with a back end of Maine-Ollie-Niese was more fragile than a house of toothpicks, yet he did very little to provide adequate depth in case those 3 went down. Now all 3 are out of the rotation at the same time, and though Dickey and Takahashi performed well in their first starts, chances are they will falter at some point. And behind them are group of underwhelming candidates who likely won't perform much better (Pat Misch, Bobby Livingston, Dillon Gee, Tobi Stoner). Right about now it sure seems like it would have been a good idea to have added one of those "innings-eaters" that were available this offseason, like Jon Garland, or retained the services of Nelson Figueroa. But, now with this weak rotation, the bullpen will be forced to pick up an even heavier load. Thank goodness Omar signed Kelvim Escobar to be the workhorse he's so successfully been out of the bullpen. Oh, wait. And why is Jenry Mejia still in the bullpen and not in the minors being groomed as the next Dwight Gooden, as he has been hyped up to be ad nauseam? What did Manny Acosta do to deserve getting demoted instead?
I am in the distinct minority who likes Cora (though I grant you that he's overpaid). That said, I couldn't figure out why Jerry didn't use Carter in that situation – he's a better hitter, and it was a pinch hitting opportunity with little expectation that the player would subsequently be inserted into the game on a double switch (for Cora to do so, both he and Reyes would have had to get on base before Castillo's AB, being that there were two outs). Plus, in light of Castillo's injury, I probably would have expected Jerry to hold Cora on the bench. The thinking was puzzling, but it worked out.
Let's dwell on at least one positive: Pelfrey was, once again, fantastic. The Mets needed a strong outing and he stepped up. The guy has really matured. He seems to be figuring out how to pitch. You can see it too – in tough situations, he hunkers down and figures out a way to work his way through the jam. The Yankees managed one run off of him on a failed kick save. I am really impressed with the kid.
And, I too wish someone could explain GMJ's presence on the roster. The guy isn't hitting (to say that his average was raised to .180 after a hot streak says it all) and he's not that great defensively. Perhaps its time to take a chance on someone from AAA – perhaps Feliciano, in light of Pirdie's injury. And I really would like to see them bring back Parnell. They need another hard thrower out of the pen (and send Jenry down to be stretched out). And if they don't do the latter, then at least send down Dessens. They need more dependable arms. At the rate Jerry's going, Nieve (and possibly Pedro) are going to be useless by the all star break. Perhaps Jerry's been reading Joe Torre's book on how to manage a bullpen …
Ugh but what do I know…
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/lists/10-MLB-players…
Mike Scioscia NEVER used K-Rod for more than a 3-out save during his record-setting 2008 season, and he rarely had him go more than 3 outs in '07 and '06. Why? Because Scioscia managed his bullpen for a full season, not from game to game, and he had concerns about keeping K-Rod's arm healthy and his performance effective.
Though, with Monday as an off day, I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for K-Rod to pitch for five outs and then pitch again on Sunday. And it appears the Mets won't have many save opps this year anyhow.