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May 17, 2011 Mets 2011 Games Josh Burton

Mets Game 41: Loss to Marlins

Marlins 2 Mets 1

After a 1 hour and 20 minute rain delay to start the game, Edwin Rodriguez let reliever Burke Badenhop hit in the top of the 11th inning. Of course, Ryota Igarashi gave up the game-winning single to him. The Mets seemingly lost 2-1 in a way that only the only the Mets would lose in. Then in the bottom of the inning, it got crazier when Jonathan Niese pinch-hitting hit a triple over centerfielder Emilio Bonafacio’s head. But then as only the Mets would do, Jose Reyes struck out and ended the game. This better be the rock bottom of Mets losses, cause if it isn’t I wouldn’t even want to see where rock bottom would be.

Mets Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey pitched well for 6 innings but sort of lost his way in the seventh giving up a 450 ft plus home run to Michael Stanton. Pelf also let a few base runners get on but got out of the inning with the game tied at 1. That would be it for Pelf’s night.

Josh Johnson just didn’t have his good stuff today as he only went 5 innings  and gave up one earned run. That seems like a good stat line but it looks like that because the Mets really didn’t take advantage of their opportunities against him. His outing showed how good of a pitcher he is that he can still pitch effectively even when he is off of his game.

Willie Harris played a very good, scot-free game defensive-wise at third base filling in for David Wright. Harris is normally in the outfield but his defensive play tonight showed his versatility and why he made this team out of spring training. Willie also made an amazing diving catch to end the 4th inning which robbed John Buck of a potential run-scoring extra base hit.

Ronny Paulino showed some nice defensive aggressiveness in the 3rd inning by throwing out Omar Infante at second on a Josh Johnson sacrifice bunt attempt. Paulino has turned out to be a very nice offseason acquisition for Sandy Alderson with his solid hitting and management of pitchers. He started off his Mets stint with a bang against the Phillies on May 1st with a 5 for 7 night at the plate. He also drove in the game-winning run in that 2-1 Mets win. Of course that was also the night when Americans heard the news of the death of terrorist Osama Bin Laden.

Daniel Murphy showed his inexperience at first base in the 4th inning on a Jose Reyes errant throw trying to get Greg Dobbs out at first. Reyes threw the ball a little down the line towards home plate but it was a play that Ike Davis would make to try a jumping tag on the baserunner. Murphy just doesn’t have the reps at first to make that kind of play. This begs to bring up the point of possibly playing Murphy at third and calling someone up from Triple-A Buffalo to play first.

Marlin left-handed reliever Mike Dunn shut down the Mets in the 7th and 8th throwing 2 perfect innings with 5 (yes 5) strikeouts. He went over to the Marlins from Atlanta in the Dan Uggla trade.

Justin  Turner continued his clutch hitting this season with a double driving in Daniel Murphy from second in the 4th inning to give the Mets a rare 1-0 lead against Josh Johnson. This gives Turner 6 RBIs over his past two games.

Carlos Beltran also got in on the great defensive play with a great diving catch of a Chris Coughlan liner in the 5th inning. He got up and then threw to Jose Reyes covering second base to double off Omar Infante to end the inning.

With the bases loaded with 2 outs in the 9th, Terry Collins sent up Chin-Lung Hu to pinch hit for Willie Harris and he promptly grounded out to Hanley Ramirez sending the game  to extra innings. Hu is only 1-20 at the plate this year (I don’t get why Terry keeps pinch-hitting him in clutch, end of the game situations).

Next Mets Game

The Mets host the Marlins  at Citi Field on Tuesday night at 7:10 pm weather permitting to end the quick 2-game series. Jonathan Niese goes for the Mets and Ricky Nolasco goes for Florida.

Josh Burton is a student at Lynbrook High School on Long Island in New York. He enjoys writing about his favorite sports teams like the Mets, New Jersey Nets, and others. Josh has been a Mets fan since birth and has stuck with the team through the highs of the Bobby Valentine and Willie Randolph managerialships and the lows of the Art Howe and Jerry Manuel managerialships; of course the jury is still out on Terry Collins. His one dream with the New York Mets is to personally witness a World Series Championship in his lifetime. Ya Gotta Believe!
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  1. Joe May 17, 2011 at 10:15 am
    How did you like Bay (after looking bad again with a man on third with less than two outs) bunting?

    The team repeatedly (though a crazy double play didn’t help) blew chances. Harris is showing some value here, including decent play at third. Such flexibility, at least when Ike Davis returns, only makes Hu (and Hairston to some degree) that much worse in comparison. If Harris can be your emergency infielder, what’s the point of Hu?

    Good outing by Pelfrey.

    • Josh Burton May 17, 2011 at 5:18 pm
      Bay bunting in that situation as the right move because he can’t hit the broadside of a barn right now.

      We shouldn’t ever be in the situation when that is the right move because we are just paying Bay too much right now to bunt in a clutch RBI chance. But the Mets seem to play better with him in the lineup so he has to stay in the lineup.

      • Joe May 17, 2011 at 7:38 pm
        Thanks. I at first thought Joe wrote the game summary and he brought up bunting recently. I agree with your answer.
  2. Walnutz15 May 17, 2011 at 10:30 am
    E-Mail from my brother, this morning – coming fresh off my bachelor party weekend ending late Sunday night:

    “I sat through an entire 11 inning affair at Citi last night. i either needed to be rewarded in some fashion; or be committed to an asylum.”

    I don’t know how one would have sat through last night’s debacle — but then again, he was probably still in a dazed and confused cloud from the weekend.

    Probably the only ones who’ll be left by the time September rolls around. Maybe there’ll even be “meaningful games” – toward 2012.

  3. murph May 17, 2011 at 10:40 am
    I thought Pridie’s failure to lay down a bunt with no out & runner on 2nd in the bottom of the 9th was the most critical play of the game.
  4. NormE May 17, 2011 at 11:07 am
    Hu and Igarashi are gone. They won’t be missed. Bato returns to the pen. Bringing up Tejada means that Murphy will stay at first untilDavis gets back. Turner probably goes to third.
    Who knows if the moves will help, but they certainly won’t hurt.
  5. SiddFinch May 17, 2011 at 11:48 am
    In his stay with the Mets Hu I think actually re-defined the term “light hitting infielder” he was flat out awful. It seemed every game Igarashi pitched he gave up a run that either iced the game for the other team or put it out of reach.
  6. Josh Burton May 17, 2011 at 11:58 am
    Hey guys the title should be Game 41 Loss to Marlins and I agree that Hu should of never been on the team in the first place. I don’t get why Terry kept using him to pich hit.
  7. gary s. May 17, 2011 at 1:09 pm
    I’m starting to really question why Colllins is managing in the bigs anymore.Why not let Pridie swing away?A ground ball to secomd does the same thing as a bunt.The batter before got on via an error and the pitcher might groove one.Plus Pridie clearly did not know how to sac bunt and Collins should now that.Plus pinch hitting Hu again and again is really bad.I hope when the next generation Mets are playing in a year or 2, COLLINS IS LONG GONE.HE’S A LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!
  8. Joe May 17, 2011 at 1:59 pm
    Let’s not try to force the issue. Bunting there is perfectly sensible and in the past Pridie has done the job. Bay, who is not a bunter, managed to do it on the first try. Don’t blame the manager for Pridie not getting the job done. No real reason to pitch hit Hu there, but overall, the team has shown something of late, and the manager probably had something to do with it.
  9. gary s. May 17, 2011 at 5:39 pm
    Showing “something” is a wide parameter to judge progress.This is a bad team that needs to be dismantled and rebuilt and than will need a new manager to lead it.The sooner the real rebuilding begins the better.
    • Joe May 17, 2011 at 6:49 pm
      The team has no #1 starter, the center fielder is a #4 outfielder, Jason Bay isn’t hitting, the corners are hurt etc. Yeah, it’s a bad team. But, the team has been actually playing decent, even with all of their problems, and the manager had something to do with it.

      You care therefore changing the subject. Again, you brought a couple of allegedly bad moves. One wasn’t a bad move. It’s a perfectly reasonable one. The other is a silly move, but replacing a bad hitter in that spot with a horrible one isn’t really a make or break thing either.