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June 4, 2012 Mets 2012 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 55: Loss to Cardinals

Cardinals 5 Mets 4

Well, you can’t win ’em all …

Mets Game Notes

Dillon Gee pitched well enough to win. Unfortunately, so did Kyle Lohse. The two righthanders engaged in a poor man’s pitchers’ duel, and it became a battle of the bullpens. Whenever that is the case, the Mets seem to be on the wrong side. This time it was Jon Rauch who shat the bed. Hey, it happens.

Rauch, by the way, now has a tender elbow. Watching his mechanics going back to spring training, he seems to have a flaw that is similar to that of Johan Santana, in that he leads with his elbow and as a result doesn’t use much shoulder rotation to throw the baseball. What that means is he puts significant strain on the elbow to do the work while also tightening the shoulder during the arm action. In other words, both the elbow and the shoulder can be injured as a result.

Mets pinch-hitters accounted for 1/3 of the Mets hits and half of their runs.

Ike Davis continues to struggle mightily, and it’s most noticeable when the Mets don’t score many runs. He is looking downright ugly, and it’s no longer just his mechanics but his body language is showing resignation. A MLB team HAS TO get production from 1B; even bad teams get some kind of offense from the first base position.

As Gary Cohen noted during the SNY broadcast, the Mets have now gone three consecutive games without a no-hitter.

I find it funny that whenever Daniel Murphy drops to his knees / feet to field a grounder, the SNY team praises him for his improvement defensively. They did so on a 4th-inning grounder that would have been handled routinely by any other MLB second baseman.

Seems to me that as long as their starters can throw 8-9 innings every start, the Mets have a shot at the playoffs. If this were the 1970s, that would be a plausible concept.

Next Mets Game

The Mets travel to the nation’s capital to face the Nationals. Game one begins at 7:05 p.m. and pits Chris Young against Jordan Zimmerman.

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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. gary s. June 5, 2012 at 8:33 am
    Amazing how you have to hold your breath every time a member of the arson squad coes in to a game in relief.I don’t trust any of them.I doubt if Collins does either.If we can get through the next 4 weeks against winning teams without going in the tank, the bullpen will probably decide if we stay in hunt.Niese and Gee for the most part are 6 inning pitchers and unless Santana is pitching a no hitter he is a 6 inning pitcher also.Going to sink or swim with the pen.An extra run or 2 would be pivotal with this pen also.That’s why Davis needs to go to Triple A and someone else needs to play first. (Duda?)
  2. Steve S. June 5, 2012 at 8:41 am
    I’m hoping that Mejia and Beato will be brought up and that will help the pen!
  3. Joe June 5, 2012 at 11:38 am
    “They did so on a 4th-inning grounder that would have been handled routinely by any other MLB second baseman.”

    The guy is having his first full year as a 2nd baseman. The idea he had a shot at doing the job was ridiculed by some people. Now he is doing it rather ordinarily and praising him for being a quick learner is being criticized.

    Gee hurt himself with an error but this is the second time the pen blew the game he started. That’s not the way to win ball games though this time around 3/4 will do the trick.

    What is the plus/minus for the number of starts Young will pitch this year?

    • HobieLandrith June 5, 2012 at 12:31 pm
      The constant gushing over Murphy makes me sick. Every time the guy farts Gary Cohen wets his pants. Murphy is terrible at 2B, and no amount of praise from the announcers watching through rose colored glasses will make me believe otherwise. Who cares if it’s his first year at 2B? This is the majors and if you can’t play the position you shouldn’t be out there. Excuses like that are for little leaguers.