Home » Mets 2011 Games » Mets Game 46: Loss to Yankees
20
May 22, 2011 Mets 2011 Games Josh Burton

Mets Game 46: Loss to Yankees

Yankees 9 Mets 3

The Mets lost the rubber game and series to their crosstown rival Yankees behind another inconsistent and bad start from “ace” (I used the term loosely) Mike Pelfrey. Through 6 innings Pelfrey looked great and the Mets were winning 3-1, but in the 7th Pelf gave up 4 runs and was promptly taken out. The Yankees went on to score 4 more runs on the Met bullpen making it an 8-run 7th inning and extending the Yankees lead to 9-3.

Mets Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey started the game well but all hell broke loose in the 7th and he just fell apart. Over 6+ innings, Pelf gave up 5 earned runs increasing his era to 5.37. Previous to today’s start, all 3 of Mike’s starts in May were quality starts and it looked like maybe he figured the whole pitching thing out but he took a huge step back today. It looks like the mental problems that have plagued him for most of his career are back again.

The Mets hit well off of Ivan Nova, collecting 11 hits in his 6 2/3 innings, but the clutch RBI hits were absent again today as they scored only 3 runs.  And like the previous game, the Mets left a ton of guys on base (16 to be exact). If you want to win, you simply can’t leave that many guys on base.

Justin Turner broke his consecutive games with a RBI streak with an oh-fer (0-4) and he left 5 men on base. The streak was snapped at 7 games in a row. You knew that Turner had to come down to earth eventually but you hoped that when he did, someone else on the team would step up and lead the team to victory with a breakout multiple-RBI game, but that didn’t happen.

Pedro Beato gave up his first 2 earned runs of the year in the 8-run 7th inning. By that point, the Mets were already down by 3 runs and the game was basically decided so at least he didn’t give up crucial runs in a close game. Beato’s ERA jumped from 0.00 to 0.95 on the year.

Some good things that did happen in this game from the Mets’ perspective were the multiple-hit games of fill-in third baseman Willie Harris and leftfielder Jason Bay. Harris has been in a slump since the first series of the season so it is nice to see him show some promise and the Mets need as many hitters as they possibly can get at this point. Bay hasn’t really hit much since he was signed by the Mets after a monster season with the Boston Red Sox 2 years ago. He still hasn’t produced many runs this year but you have to start somewhere. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Next Mets Game

The Mets have a day off tomorrow and they head to Chicago on Tuesday to face the Cubs at Wrigley Field at 8:05 pm on SNY. Jonathan Niese will go for the Mets against Ryan Dempster of the Cubs.

Tags: , ,

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!
Related Articles
  1. Connor May 22, 2011 at 6:29 pm
    Hi,
    I hope you don’t mind me using your Amazon Mets store idea for the site I’m planning. It’s a great idea and it is fantastic for covering the costs of running a blog. I will credit you for the idea.
    The Mets need to get rid of Pelfrey. Wait until his value is high (when he’s pitching well,) and then pull the trigger. That’s what I would do, at least.
    • izzy May 22, 2011 at 8:44 pm
      Wait until his value is high!! When do you think that be? I think his value peaked last Winter. But Sandy Alderson was away from the game and needed a year to study because there is nobody in the game he can trust. Pelfrey will be gone soon enouygh but it will be a non tender this Winter. I think Big Pelf spent too much time with Ollie, who by the way is officially on the comeback trail again with AA Harrisburg.
      • Connor May 23, 2011 at 7:03 am
        I meant once he has a few good starts. His value peaked last July when he was pitching really well. You aren’t going to get much for him but if you wait until he’s pitching well, maybe the mets can get a prospect for him.
        • izzy May 23, 2011 at 8:22 am
          Do you think only met fans have seen the history of our designated ace? A few good starts and the other GMs will laugh and say call us when he’s done with the next wave of implosions. He might have some return value if a contender is desperate for a starter but do they want a Pelfrey or will they take a rookie who can be just as inconsistent from their farm and cost minimum and not any player in return?
  2. wohjr May 22, 2011 at 9:11 pm
    This is going to come off as harsh, but yo josh– do you have any real insight on these games?? I can read the politburo recap on metsblog…. C’mon man, give me some unique perspective here
  3. wohjr May 22, 2011 at 9:13 pm
    Translation: when is joe coming back???
  4. Joe May 23, 2011 at 7:04 am
    “another inconsistent and bad start”

    Dickey went six and gave up one. Pelfrey went six and gave up one. He didn’t have a bad start. He had a lousy inning. It was helped by bad luck and questioning managing. Misplays tacked on some runs.

    The killer was when he hit a batter after walking another bottom of the line-up type. He was done. He was left in. He gave up a hit. After an intentional walk, Beato was called in. A-Rod hit a 45ft-er. Winning won, bad luck. Perhaps a bit rattled, Beato falls behind and gives up a hit and then gets an out. 2 outs.

    Beato overall was doing okay. Misch, your iffy long man is called out to get the last out. Why exactly? Some match-up? Leave Beato in there for at least one more batter. See how he handles adversity. No. Misch comes in and the game truly is blown.

    All those singles not getting anything after scoring (with help) in one inning didn’t help, but after some good games and decisions, the seventh was an inning to forget. Dickey got out after giving you six. Pelfrey needed to get a quick hook there. Instead Beato got a too quick one. The result wasn’t pretty.

    • izzy May 23, 2011 at 8:24 am
      Of course it was a bad start. The man is your designated ace, decreed by the manager. All he was asked to do was get the bottom of the order out. He couldn’t get any of them. If your ace needs a quick hook then you better call him what he is, your 4 or 5 guy.
      • Joe May 23, 2011 at 9:02 am
        The designated ace is something of a joke. He isn’t an ace. Let’s recognize the reality there. But, aces repeatedly go six and hit a snag at seven. Maddux repeated was removed after six. Was he merely a fourth starter? Did he have a bad game?

        As to “bottom of the order,” Gardner has the same or better average than the top three. And, if they were so subpar, more reason to not leave him in after he hits a batter to load the bases.

        • izzy May 23, 2011 at 9:06 pm
          We all know he isn’t an ace joe BUT Collins made him his ace and if he can’t keep him in the game in the 7th inning against the bottom of an order than Collins better have a 9 or 10 man pen. Yeah and that sure was a bullet by Jeter wasn’t it. It was hit so slowly it wouldn’t have been a DP because it was such a trickler.
        • Joe May 24, 2011 at 9:43 am
          Collins said he was the ace, so hey, he has to push him to do what he isn’t capable of doing in a specific game? Dickey got two years. Must mean he can go seven. Dj Carrasco got two years. Don’t know why he was sent to the minors. The ace of the Rockies staff last year started lousy. Better keep him in, even when it is clear he is done.

          Again, the first batter he faced there has an average matching the top of the order. And, when Sabathia or Zambrano doesn’t have it or for whatever reason (I didn’t just say run out of gas … why skip over the “or something”), they don’t just leave them in no matter what. The Mets pen, especially with Beato back, can handle two innings to K-Rod.

          You can berate Pelfrey if you want, but a manager of a subpar team has to live with what he got. Whining about the team being subpar and not managing in a way that deals with their weaknesses is not the way to go.

    • Josh Burton May 23, 2011 at 6:34 pm
      When your final pitching line is 6+ innings pitched with 5 earned runs given up, you didn’t pitch a good game.

      Pelfrey is constantly showed uneven splotches of brightness and talent but then in the next 2 starts he will blow up again and show why he is no better than a 4 or 5 starter in a good team.

      • Joe May 23, 2011 at 6:53 pm
        “When your final pitching line is 6+ innings pitched with 5 earned runs given up, you didn’t pitch a good game.”

        Yeah, but if you are taken out after six, and give up one run, you have a good game. Where’s the “inconsistency”? He ran out of gas or something after six. That’s not “inconsistent.”

        “Pelfrey is constantly showed uneven splotches of brightness and talent but then in the next 2 starts he will blow up again and show why he is no better than a 4 or 5 starter in a good team.”

        The guy isn’t an ace. He’s a middle of the rotation guy. Given the talent out there, including on good teams, making him into a fifth starter is a bit much. A good team often has one slot up on more mediocre ones, so, yeah he might be a #4. Lot of starters doing suspect these days.

        • izzy May 23, 2011 at 9:09 pm
          He ran out of gas?. Even Prlfrey his friends his family and his agent Scott Boras wouldn’t use such a lame and phony excuse when Pelf didn;t even come close to 100 pitches on a cool day. You can berate Collins if it makes you happy but when is Pelf going to mature? When he’s 35 or so?
  5. Manchester Met May 23, 2011 at 9:10 am
    That 7th inning was like watching a train wreck. You could see what was coming, and nobody, especially TC with his frankly bizarre decision making (Misch? Seriously?), did anything to stop it. The biggest issue with Pelf is the lack of confidence he inspires – at no point while he was pitching was I comfortable that we were going to win, and in the seventh, it seemed like the whole team felt the same way. I like Pelf, he does OK most of the time and he tries damn hard, but he’s no ace, and to be fair, he knows it – and therein lies the mental problem. He knows he’s not as good as other people keep telling him he is, and that, says the pop psychologist in me, is a recipe for disaster in pressure situations and adversity. We need a real ace. Let’s hope when Johann returns, we’ve got one.
    • Joe May 23, 2011 at 9:42 am
      Some criticism the manager a bit too much but sometimes it is deserved. Pelfrey isn’t an ace. He is a credible pitcher and within his limitations, he could be an asset.

      A good manager recognizes the limitations. Leaving him there not only hurt them in the inning but given his fragile psyche, could linger on. The Misch business also is inane. The guy was doing okay. A situation like that is really asking a bit much of the guy. Beato wasn’t being blown out of the water there. Unless it was a physical issue, that was just weird.

  6. gary s. May 23, 2011 at 9:36 am
    If and when Johan returns, he will be moved.No reason to pay a 3 times operated on “ace” 20 mill plus for the next few years with a couple of thousand fans in the seats in august and september.If Alderson lucks out, Santana looks good for a few starts in August and a team like the Yankees, who are desperate for starting pitching will give us a few prospects.
  7. Josh Burton May 23, 2011 at 7:13 pm
    The fact that some games he is good and some he is bad makes him inconsistent. I’ll admit he has some good starts but the bad starts far outweigh the good stats.

    So I guess you are, he isn’t inconsistent, but he is just consistently bad.

  8. Mic May 24, 2011 at 10:52 am
    I think pelfrey will net a decent return if traded.

    Joe are you going to spin on the ail on story?

  9. Mic May 24, 2011 at 11:57 am
    Damn this auto correct crap. I meant are you going to write on the Fred Wilpon story.