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August 26, 2012 Mets 2012 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 128: Win Over AAAstros

Mets 2 Astros 1

The Mets follow up their offensive outburst on Saturday with yet another explosive win over hapless Houston.

Mets Game Notes

Jeremy Hefner was fantastic, allowing only one run on five hits and a walk in eight innings, striking out seven. He was just a little better than Astros starter Lucas Harrell, who matched Hefner pitch for pitch in this pitchers’ duel. In the end, though, it was Ike Davis who was the difference in the ballgame, as his two solo homeruns were the extent of the Mets offense.

Andres Torres went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in the leadoff spot. Can someone please explain why Torres was leading off, considering his plummeting on-base percentage and thirty-something age? I thought we were at a point in the season where personnel needs to be evaluated for 2013 consideration — in which case, we already know what Torres brings to the table (not much). Why not give more at-bats to someone like Mike Baxter, who is getting on base nearly 40% of the time and has three years before hitting age thirty? Maybe I’m nitpicking, but I just don’t comprehend giving the most plate appearances in a game to one of the worst offensive producers on the 25-man roster.

I really, really liked what I saw of Hefner in this ballgame — he threw a ton of strikes, as always, and changed speeds well. However, it’s hard to take anything “real” from this outing, considering that the Astros lineup resembles a good AA team. I’m not saying Hefner can’t do well against, say, the Phillies or Nationals. Rather, I don’t know whether we can glean any worthwhile knowledge from this ballgame. It reminds me of those great September outings of Pat Misch — what did they mean? What were they worth?

Next Mets Game

The Mets get a day off on Monday, then begin a three-game series with the Phillies in Philadelphia. Game one begins at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday night. The pitching matchup is Chris Young vs. Vance Worley.

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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. DaveSchneck August 26, 2012 at 11:22 pm
    Joe,
    Heave Ho, 2 in a Row. Good post, and an excellent point on the leadoff spot. This should be on the list of musts for 2013. Tejada is a nice #2, not #1. I also agree that not too much can be gained from Hefner’s or McHugh’s starts this week, but neither spit the bit either. Both have 2013 value by providing depth if nothing else.This will allow the few $ to be spent on some OFers, one that can lead off and a RHer with power, and a closer. And a catcher. Oh, and a 2B.
  2. Izzy August 27, 2012 at 9:12 am
    Torres playing is why good GMs, with a team out of the race, dump veterans to force managers to play kids. Managers want to try to win every game, and, despite the horrid play of Torres, Collins sees nobody else on the roster to play center field. If alderson did his job, collins would have to do his job as well. as for leadoff, maybe Collins picked lineup out of a hat?
    And what a twist, a mere 50 years ago the Colt 45’s watched the hapless Mets be worse than they are, and now we are not as bad as those Astros. !!!
  3. Steven August 27, 2012 at 12:15 pm
    Have to agree with the comments regarding Torres. Come September 1, I cant see a reason to play Torres other than as a late inning defensive replacement, or pitch Ramirez. It is obvious that neither will be with this team in the future. The same thing happened last year when I could not understand why they were pitching Igarashi regularly at the end of the season
    • Mike B August 27, 2012 at 12:47 pm
      Speaking of Defense replacement, Why was Duda playing LF in the 9th Inning? It was nice to see Ike bail him out though, I was actually hoping DW was gonna do it and get his 200th.
      • Walnutz15 August 27, 2012 at 3:15 pm
        Wright hit his 200th already.
        • Mike B August 28, 2012 at 8:29 am
          Opps…
  4. Joe August 28, 2012 at 11:40 pm
    I forgot the great outings of Pat Misch. Guy looked mediocre even relative to the mediocrity of the starters they had to offer. Harrell has won 10 games for the Astros this year. The Mets actually had a reason to score a few runs this time. I don’t think that ball Duda missed was that easy to catch but didn’t make much sense to have him there in the ninth (even with his slot coming up) up in the 9th.