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April 8, 2011 Mets 2011 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 6: Loss To Phillies

Phillies 11 Mets 0

For a team whose offense is below par due to the loss of Jayson Werth and injury to Chase Utley, they sure score a lot of runs.

Roy Halladay was spectacular. Jon Niese was not. As a result, the final score was an unhappy one for Mets fans.

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese looked fabulous for the first two innings, as he kept his arm angle toward high-three-quarters / close to overhand. At that angle his curveball had excellent bite, his fastball had sink, and what he calls a “cutter” was breaking sharply down — more what one would term a “slider”. Then, something happened in the third inning — his arm angle dropped just a few inches, but enough so that it flattened his fastball and turned the slider back into a level-planed cutter. Interestingly, he had a slightly higher release on the curves he threw, so that retained bite, but the other pitches were too flat and hittable and as a result the Phillies teed off.

As much as I hate to watch the Mets lose, at least I was able to enjoy — as a baseball fan — the artistry of Roy Halladay. What makes Halladay special is not necessarily his ability to get swings and misses, but his ability to make batters hit his pitch and ground out or pop up. A key moment in the game came in the third, when the Mets loaded the bases with one out and David Wright at bat. Halladay didn’t flinch, kept an air of extreme confidence, and mowed down both Wright and Ike Davis to extinguish the threat in a manner that looked too easy. Again, it’s not pleasing to watch the Mets lose as a Mets fan, but as a student and fan of baseball, it is a treat to watch a pitcher who is a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

Dan Murphy made his first appearance in the outfield since 2009 and he immediately was tested with two fly balls — both of which he handled without incident. Funny how things like that happen.

I love that D.J. Carrasco wears stirrups. That’s all I have to say about him so far.

Remember Wilson Valdez? He went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI, and is hitting .428 for the year. Are we sure this is the same Wilson Valdez who couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag while wearing the orange and blue?

Placido Polanco drove in 4 runs in this game and 8 runs in the three-game series. Placido Polanco. Not Ryan Howard. Placido Polanco.

Next Mets Game

The Mets travel to Flushing to play their home opener against the Nationals at The Park At Shea Bridge. R.A. Dickey draws the start against Jordan Zimmerman. Game time is 4:10 PM.

Please be aware that I’m traveling for business tomorrow afternoon so there will be another late postgame recap.

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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. Walnutz15 April 8, 2011 at 7:42 am
    Murphy almost took Pagan out when they converged on a fly-ball — little communication coming from Daniel-san’s mouth…..while Pagan more or less looked like he knew what he just escaped afterward.

    I’d really prefer not putting our starting outfield at risk by throwing Murph out there for an inning or two in a blow-out……just sayin’.

  2. Walnutz15 April 8, 2011 at 7:49 am
    http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/23/fullj.b864c7698132d2d72539687f44cbca9e/b864c7698132d2d72539687f44cbca9e-getty-109235486dh0504_mets_phil.jpg
  3. gary s. April 8, 2011 at 9:29 am
    Someone from the coaching staff who has seen murphy butcher balls in the outfield should advise Coliins that murphy should NEVER play in the outfield!!!!
    • xDanTanna April 8, 2011 at 9:58 am
      Collins has made a few scratch your head decisions already. I am hoping it is just a fluke thing because he is missing Bay.
  4. xDanTanna April 8, 2011 at 9:54 am
    The decision to put Murphy in LF I did not understand. I said to myself as it happened. What purpose does it serve? The only thing that could happen would be on the negative. Imagine if he knocked out Pagan for an extended period of time? A collective sigh of relief when they did not get hurt.
  5. AC Wayne April 8, 2011 at 10:34 am
    In defense of Niese and Pelfrey, it can be difficult to pitch at Citizens Bank early on in the season…not making excuses, just sayin’
  6. Mic April 8, 2011 at 10:43 am
    The GOOD news:

    http://fonzieforever.blogspot.com/2011/04/fernando-martinez-will-be-starting-for.html

    http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/apr/08/harvey-gives-mets-fans-taste-of-the-future/?partner=RSS

  7. RandomDude April 8, 2011 at 11:15 am
    Wilson Valdez is karmic payback for the usefulness the Mets found in Endy Chavez.
  8. Joe April 8, 2011 at 1:23 pm
    This game was a likely loss but you’d hope for something a tad bit better than that. 3-3 works; it just is that the middle game was annoying. It isn’t even the loss. It’s how it went down. This game is one of those “yeah, we are going to have this sort of game this year … who’s next?”
  9. Mic April 8, 2011 at 6:11 pm
    The same Wilson Valdez who wanted to remind us he beat Luis Castillo out twice and again in Philly