Mets Game 83: Loss to Reds

Reds 8 Mets 6

Well, at least they fought back.

The Mets fell behind 8-1 after a six-run top of the fifth but before the Reds could relax, the home team responded with five runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Unfortunately, the Mets didn’t score again while the Reds added an insurance run, hence the final score. Hey, the guy is 10-3 … games like this are going to happen once in a while.

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey had a bad night, allowing 7 earned runs on 9 hits and 4 walks in 4 2/3 innings.

David Wright was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and 2 runs scored. Angel Pagan also had two hits and went yard.

Fernando Nieve crawled out from under his rock and pitched three innings of relief, allowing one run and striking out 3. I still like his running, sinking fastball but he seems to have lost his “edge” — and that has nothing to do with Derek Jeter.

Not much more to say, other than that Joey Votto is the best Canadian in MLB right now (sorry, Jason Bay). He may also be the best North American-born hitter as well.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Reds do it again at 7:10 PM on Tuesday night in Flushing. Johan Santana faces Aaron Harang.

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. gary s. July 5, 2010 at 10:49 pm
    big pelf needs to miss a start and get a little rest so he can come back strong in the 2nd half..most of his pitches topped at 92 mph with so so command ..he’s had a bunch of games over 100 pitches and it looks like it’s had an effect on his velocity.also tejada has done well, but his 0 for 16 coincides with his move to the top of the order.he did much better in the 8 hole with less pressure.bad move by snoop to move him up.
  2. isuzudude July 6, 2010 at 9:53 am
    The wheels fell off for Pelfrey in the 5th when Scott Rolen was awarded first base on a reversed strikeout call. Though I could understand his frustration, it seemed to me like Pelf couldn’t get over the umpire’s audacity to get the call right (because, in the end, the pitch did hit Rolen and he never swung or foul tipped it). Of course, allowing the first 3 runners to reach base in the inning didn’t do anything to help his cause.

    Meantime, how in the world does Charlie Manuel justify adding Omar Infante to the all-star team while snubbing Joey Votto, who is in serious contention for the NL triple crown? I used to think the fans had no clue on how to pick the right players to play in the game (Yadier Molina? Jason Heyward? c’mon people), but now I’m not so sure the managers are any better.

  3. Bill July 6, 2010 at 11:44 am
    Last night reminded me of the ‘old Pelf’. Earlier this year, he did a great job of battling through adversity. Pelf admitted as much after the game, saying his emotions got the best of him. He needs to remember that a 1 run inning or 2 run inning won’t kill you…but a 6 run inning will.

    As for his ‘stuff’ , some think he’s going through a dead arm phase, which should be helped by the All Star Break rest. We’ll see.

    As for Votto not getting in, I’m amazed. However, Charlie Manuel never ceases to amaze me. Listen to the guy speak. I know he is a World Series winning manager, bla bla bla, but the guy uses the word ‘like’ at least twice in almost every sentence!

    “Um, ya know, like Infante gives us some help in the like infield, which is what we needed, I thought”

  4. isuzudude July 6, 2010 at 12:11 pm
    A few other comments I wanted to add:

    Maybe I’m biased, but I was not impressed with Jerry’s ejection last night. It seemed like he went out there and just clapped his hands and stomped around until the umpires got tired of him. And then once he got thrown out, he just put his hat back on a calmly walked away. Was he really angry about the call or was he just out there to save face? Can’t help but wonder how Wally would have reacted if he were faced with the same situation.

    Also, word is the Twins are offering their two best prospects for Cliff Lee. I would figure it’s something equivalent to the Mets offering FMart and Wilmer Flores, though that’s debatable as the Mariners are rumored to prefer catching over anything else, and the Twins are including a catcher in their proposal. If the Mets include Jon Niese in any deal it would be blatant overkill in my opinion. I’m torn as to whether I’d give up FMart and Flores for Lee, but I’m pretty sure my decision would be made for me as I doubt Seattle would settle for that deal, and including anyone else of value on top of that (Ike Davis, Mejia, Tejada) would have the Mets giving up too much in comparison to other offers.

  5. Bill July 6, 2010 at 2:14 pm
    I thought the same thing. I was laughing at him while he was doing his little tirade. But after they tossed him, he wimpered away. I thought he’d at least get his money’s worth after getting tossed. I still don’t know if it was right to reverse the call, but I can’t recall seeing an umpiring crew change a call like that. Unfortunately, Pelf couldn’t hold it together after that pitch, or the non-strike call at 0-1 a few batters later.

    I’m with you. I read somewhere that Flores + Thole is the Mets latest offer. Is that true? If so, I can’t say that it’s a terrible deal to get Cliff Lee. I don’t think you can include Niese, Davis, Tejada, or Mejia, but what he would bring to the team would be ridiculous. Can you imagine him wanting to stick it to the Phillies? Granted, after the year, he’ll be moving to the Bronx b/c we know they’ll overpay, but he could at least help us this season.