Home » Mets 2007 Games » Mets Game 156: Loss to Nationals
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September 24, 2007 Mets 2007 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 156: Loss to Nationals

Nationals 13 Mets 4

Yikes.

I’m not sure what’s more disconcerting — the fact the Mets could manage only three runs against Matt Chico and Saul Rivera, or that the worst offensive team in MLB has now scored nine or more runs in a game against them in three of their last four meetings.

It’s OK if the Nats have a blowout against the Mets once or twice … it’s called an anomaly. But to pound out nearly 40 runs in four games? That’s called a red flag.

Mike Pelfrey cruised through three, then unraveled. The suddenly slugging Nats scored two in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two in the sixth — Pelfrey charged with all seven runs (though Joe Smith didn’t help, allowing two inherited runners to score on a double).

Pedro Feliciano pitched a scoreless seventh, but the Nats jumped all over Guillermo Mota and Dave Williams in the final two innings, adding another three in each frame. The scoring was capped by a three-run, pinch-hit homer by Ryan Langerhans — he of perhaps the worst offensive output of any position player this year.

Notes

Moises Alou extended his hitting streak to 28 games with a double in the sixth. David Wright was 3-for-5 with a double of his own — his 41st of the season. Carlos Delgado his his 30th double of the year, and went 2-for-5.

If there was one positive in the game, ironically, it was the negative performance by Dave Williams. It sounds crazy, I know, but consider this: there’s no way Willie Randolph can lose sleep over the decision to allow Humber pitch on Wednesday after seeing Williams pitch the ninth. In fact, it’s mind-blogging that there was even a question between the two. As Omar Minaya stated about Humer, “he’s our best available option.”

Anyone notice that Ronny Belliard gets REALLY up for the Mets? He’s batting over .300 against the Mets, with 11 RBI (one-fifth of his total output). Is it possible the Bronx native was miffed that the Mets wouldn’t give him a look to fill their second base position last winter?

The last 11 runs scored by the Nats came on two-out hits. Ouch.

Tomorrow, we as Mets fans must root for Chuck James and the Atlanta Braves. I think I may be sick.

Next Game

Tom Glavine takes the ball in an absolute must-win against Jason Bergmann. Not to put any pressure on you, though, Tommy. Game time is 7:10 PM. I’ll be biting my nails in the Loge, section 20. Please stop by and share several adult beverages with me if you attend the game.

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. harveybee September 25, 2007 at 1:38 am
    absolute sh!t team
  2. harveybee September 25, 2007 at 1:39 am
    ive never seen a team consistently let down its fans. horrible. imagine that: 4 straight against two absolultely horrible teams. too much to ask? apparently so. no heart. zero
  3. sincekindergarten September 25, 2007 at 4:15 am
    Joe, I thought that Tim Hudson was going for the Braves . . . then I looked at the MLB.com site. James against Moyer. And, Glavine has lost once at Shea this year–way back on May 30th against the Giants. Tommy G knows the scene–he’s done this before.

    Harvey, go root for the Royals or something . . .

  4. isuzudude September 25, 2007 at 6:09 am
    You want to talk about anomalies…

    Matt Chico’s win last night was his first on the road in 13 starts this year.

    The Mets are only 5 games over .500 at home this season, the worst distinction of any first place team in MLB.

    But on the bright side, Glavine is 6-0 since the break and has a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings against the Nationals this season. Also, Shawn Hill has been scratched from his start on Wednesday to undergo arm surgery. Mike Bacsik is penciled in instead. That may not necessarily be such a good thing, though, seeing as how the soft tossing lefties (Seddon, Chico) have slowed us down recently. Bacsik also has a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings against the Mets this year.

    Joe: I second your comments about Belliard. Even back in last year’s World Series, it seemed like he had a bone to pick with the Mets and took it out on our pitching staff. I would say he comes in 4th on the list of most dangerous Met-killers playing today (after Burrell, Chipper, and Rollins).

  5. RockStar78 September 25, 2007 at 7:39 am
    This team will not make it easy. They haven’t all year. I predict they will hold on to win the division, but the lead will shrink back to 1 game and that’s how it’ll end. They don’t play with a sense of urgency until the situation calls for it. The most telling fact is this quote from Willie (via Newsday.com):

    “These are big games for us and I think our guys know it,” Randolph said. “We do feel some urgency, I think.”

    I think? This quote obviously proves he really hasn’t communicated that urgency to the players. He’s just assuming they know.

  6. Micalpalyn September 25, 2007 at 9:11 am
    6 games to go, and the Mets are obviously running on fumes. I have seen Reyes getting panned but he and wright have played virtually everyday for 156 games. Remember when it was said Reyes was an injury waiting to happen?

    obviously Willie has nerves of steel….(or doesnt care). Ala game 1 of the NLCS last yr, at 4 2/3 IP, I might have gone to the BP. But yes thats second guessing…but then it would show a sense of urgency with the season on the line.

  7. joe September 25, 2007 at 10:03 am
    Glavine really needs to come up big tonight. Really. No, really. Seriously.

    I’m uncertain about the “urgency” issue. It looks to me like, if anything, several of the players are pressing (Reyes!) lately — and that only happens when urgency has entered your psyche. So although from the outside it appears Willie hasn’t shown urgency, I don’t know that if he did, it would necessarily be a good thing.

    Baseball’s tough … as soon as you start trying a little too hard, you fail. There’s a fine line between calmness and indifference. Ask Manny Ramirez — he seems to have it figured out.