Mets Game 57: Win Over Marlins

Mets 7 Marlins 6

DO YOU BELIEVE IN COMEBACKS ????!!!!!!!!!

The Mets were down 1-0 in the fourth, then fell behind 5-0 as they came to bat in the sixth. It was looking like one of those lazy Sunday losses. Then, out of nowhere, the Mets offense woke from their slumber and scored seven runs over the final three innings to come back and win the ballgame — and sweep their weekend series against the Marlins.

Game Notes

Sorry for the late postgame. I missed the live broadcast of the game to attend my (not so) little brother’s high school graduation from Seton Hall Prep. Christopher Janish sung the Star-Spangled Banner to start the commencement exercises and sang “The Prep” alma mater to end the ceremonies. Yeah, I’m proud of him — it’s OK to be proud of my younger brother, right, Mr. Francesa?

Ken Hisanori Takahashi zipped through the Marlins lineup once, then struggled afterward, beginning with Dan Uggla’s solo homer in the fourth frame. Tak shook it off but then allowed four more runs in the sixth inning — the highlight being a three-run homer by Cody Ross. His final line was 5 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HR.

We shouldn’t really be surprised that the league is starting to figure out Takahashi after his hot start. After all, he tops out at 90 MPH, but usually is around 87 with his fastball, and as a result can be very hittable if his control isn’t absolutely pinpoint — he doesn’t have much margin for error. I think the mystery of being unknown was partly the reason for his great beginning, and he’s now struggling because NL hitters are more familiar with him and the scouts are building reports on him. We’ll see if he can adjust to the league now that the league has adjusted to him. Though, my guess is the “unknown factor” will work in his favor when the Mets enter interleague play next week.

All of the Marlins runs came off of Japanese imports; their sixth score came off of Ryota Igarashi, who continues to exhibit lackluster body language and questionable command. He’s been a completely different pitcher since returning from the DL, so you must wonder if he’s still hurting.

David Wright was 3-for-5 with a double but scored only once and had no RBI.

Jeff Francoeur was more or less the star of the game for the Mets, hitting a double and a three-run homer that tied the game 6-6.

Chris Carter — remember him? — drove in the Mets’ first run, scoring Wright with a bloop single off Ricky Nolasco in the sixth. He’s now 4-for-13 (.307) as a pinch-hitter.

Remarkably, Nolasco was removed immediately after that lucky bloop, having thrown only 82 pitches. He left the game with the bases loaded, and Tim Wood allowed two of those runners to score (on a laser up the middle by Angel Pagan) — as well as another three of his own when Frenchy went yard. Not sure what Fredi Gonzalez was thinking, because Nolasco was throwing fairly well and Wood has to be one of the worst pitchers on his staff. Thanks Fredi!

Pagan was — you guessed it — 2-for-4, with a stolen base. Where have I seen that before? He’s now hitting .291.

Next Mets Game

The Mets have a day off at home on Monday night, then stay in Flushing to host the Padres (didn’t the Mets just get back from San Diego?). Tuesday night’s game begins at 7:10 PM, and pits Mike Pelfrey vs. Clayton Richard.

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.
  1. isuzudude June 7, 2010 at 11:15 am
    Where have all the Jeff Francoeur and David Wright haters gone to?
  2. TheDZA June 7, 2010 at 12:34 pm
    Back under their rocks…

    I watched this game and like many of us thought it was gone till those first 3 runs came in.
    Frenchy may see only one pitch per at-bat on average but he sure likes playing, his catch off Ramirez deep in the wind-swept Tatooine sandunes of rightfield was awesome!! The guys in the bullpen were cheering when he hauled that in. Good offense, it's almost a shame the Mets have to pitch sometimes…Do we think Bay is far off showing some more power? He has good at-bats, sees alot of pitches.
    Pagan was great today as well, can't say enough about him.
    Takahashi was throwing some mighty slow breaking balls, some were checking in at 67mph…luckily I believe known of those actually 'broke'- all staying 2 feet off the plate.

    Good to see another manager fall foul of the pitcher meddlng – usually it's Jerry taking his guy out too early.

  3. gary516 June 7, 2010 at 1:21 pm
    hate the stadium not the playa! LOL
  4. @integracoach June 7, 2010 at 1:27 pm
    I did a litle analysis of Francouer’s Jekyll and Hyde year:

    first 40 at bats: hit .400
    second 40: .175
    third 40: .125
    fouth 40: .175
    last 32: .531

    In other words, he’s stunk for most of the year, but he’s still hitting a respectable .268 because of two very hot streaks. The Mets now have four of their five hitters with very streaky years (Francouer, Bay, Wright, and Davis). Only Pagan has been relatively consistent. And even though Davis was cold in May, hitting .235, he still contributed 4 HRs and had an OBP of .348. Since consistency is the mark of a winning team, it will be difficult for the Mets to compete into September if they keep this up. Especially now that ESPN has knighted the NL East as “the best division in baseball…possibly for years to come.” http://espn.go.com/mlb/notebook/_/page/bbtn100607

    REPLY

  5. @integracoach June 7, 2010 at 1:29 pm
    Here's a suggestion for the daily link — the best div in baseball now the NL East according to ESPN. Since the Mets, Marlins and Nationals are highly capable of finishing below .500 for the year, and the Braves are unproven, I am not sure I buy this point. AL East still better. But is the NL East up and coming? Yes.
    http://espn.go.com/mlb/notebook/_/page/bbtn100607
  6. gary s. June 7, 2010 at 1:52 pm
    i'm not a francouer hater.my prior posts questioned why carter can't play against some tough righties in a semi platoon and bring in francouer for defense late in the game.maybe than francouer would not get into 0 for 30 slumps and we get a lefty power bat in the line up and get a better handle on carter's ability.as far as david goes he still needs to get closer to the dish (even ralph kiner mentioned that yesterday) and stop trying to hit every pitch 500 feet.i can live with a ,270 avg and 28 homers and 90-100 rbi's.i just think he has the skill set to be a .300 hitter if he would just let the home runs come naturally .
  7. MikeTomaselli June 7, 2010 at 2:31 pm
    Most irrational thinkers have nothing to say when the tend does not point in their favor. Wright has a good series and they question their commitment to the irrational thought that he is a bad player. David's defense continues to be stellar. He has one bad game in the field against Atlanta and people are declaring he isn't a winning ball player. He strikes out a bunch and is in a slump and they claim he is a .270 hitter with no power. He is still on pace for 30 HRs and, again, he is just one patented hot streak away from a .300 average. He is in one of those streaks now. Hopefully it continues long enough to get him back to that .300 level.

    As for Francoeur, nobody actually expects him to hit like this all season, do they? He is more likely a streaky hitter who occasionally win you some games while in a hot streak.

  8. Nick June 7, 2010 at 3:15 pm
    Interesting note on Takahashi: Prior to the last road trip, his personal translator had to return to Japan to figure out some work visa issues. This guy was also his trainer, masseuse, and cooked meals for him on the road.

    Not sure if he's managed to get the visa situation fixed yet, and I certainly agree that better scouting is part of the problem, but interesting to note that sometimes non-baseball factors can have a major impact.

  9. wohjr June 7, 2010 at 3:57 pm
    I'm still here and I still say the same thing I've been saying this entire time: this team cannot win as currently constituted. Do any of you really think the Mets are a Kevin Millwood acquisition away from being in the Series?

    Wright would bring the most arms in return, the better he hits the higher his value. In that sense I am quite the opposite of a Wright hater. But he's not irreplaceable.

  10. MikeTomaselli June 7, 2010 at 4:16 pm
    At his current rate (projecting this year out to be another typical Wright year and discounting last year as a fluke) Wright is a HoFer and the best positional player the Mets have ever had. If he plays his entire career as a Met he will own the most HRs, most RBI, possibly highest career batting avg and probably own the walk record and his SB totals will make him average a 25 SB-25 HR career. For a third baseman his stats are HoF quality. his .307 avg stands as third all time among HoFers, his .388 OBP is second, his .517 SLG is second, and his HR, RBI and SB totals can be projected to be near the top of each category.

    I realize how much I am leaving out, and how much I am assuming, but my point is the kid has earned the benefit of the doubt. He does not look right to many since last year, but he still still putting up great numbers and playing stellar defense. I would not trade a potential HoFer for anything. Nothing. If Wright one day could walking into the Hall as a lifetime Met then it is worth losing because you didn't trade him for pitching. I argue that his worth over his career far outweighs his value on the trade market right now. This team can win with him on it, maybe not this year but maybe next and beyond.

  11. wohjr June 7, 2010 at 4:49 pm
    Again, I will take the under on all of this. Although your predictive powers are pretty good if you can call a HOFer at age 27!

    Personally I'd find the first World Series win in the last 25-30 years quite a bit more satisfying than whatever cap Dwright might be wearing in your HOF future fantasy land! You can still be a fan of the kid if he's not on the mets. Are you seriously saying you'd rather have Dwright and LOSE?

  12. MikeTomaselli June 7, 2010 at 4:54 pm
    No I'm saying not winning this year with him on the team, and having him his whole career, far outweighs his value on the trade market this year. Besides since he is so awful why would the Mets get anything of worth for him anyway? My fantasy land where David Wright is on pace to go to Coopers Town is called the real world, maybe you should join the rest of us, though I imagine it is fun in the world where David Wright sucks, is that the same place where Johan Santana isn't clutch and Mike Pelfrey regresses to the mean?
  13. wohjr June 7, 2010 at 5:14 pm
    Oh, OK… see I thought you were saying, "If Wright one day could walking into the Hall as a lifetime Met then it is worth losing because you didn't trade him for pitching." Whenever I see those words together… 'it is worth losing'… I seriously have to question your logic.

    I just don't find the sight of DWright in a Mets uniform innately pleasurable enough to FORGO WINNING… but each to his own.

    Saying Dwright would fetch the most in return is different than saying he sucks! In fact, its kind of the opposite!

  14. MikeTomaselli June 7, 2010 at 5:24 pm
    Ok I'll give you that you don't think he sucks. You did say that he is worth a lot and thus would fetch great pitching in return. But on that point I still don't agree. What team is a surplus in pitching, or is looking to dump pitching, has a need for Wright? I wouldn't trade Wright for Lee because Lee is going to be a FA. I certainly would not trade him for Oswalt because of his huge contract and the Astros have nothing else of worth I'd want. I just don't see a tempting enough deal.

    I believe in today's game pitching staffs cannot be constructed with FAs and trades. Not like 10 years ago. To get a front line starter you need to develop him. Santana is the best you can do but as we have seen he is past his prime. Because players age faster, by the time a team wants to trade a pitcher he is already not worth the long term investment you will have to give him. Not saying he won't be good, just not what you are paying for (in prospects and contract). We have Pelfrey and hopefully Mejia in the rotation in a year or two. There is not much else in the pipeline right now in terms of front line starters. So the solution is to ride Santana and Pelfrey, and supplement with Niese and Dickey. They do need to make a move for the last spot in the rotation with a Kevin Millwood type pitcher. But Millwood for Wright is ridiculous. Millwood and Brian Matusz might be better. But would the Orioles do that? Not a chance because they know how valuable pitching is and how the past 15 or so years they can't win because they don't have pitching.