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August 31, 2012 Mets 2012 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 132: Win Over Marlins

Mets 3 Marlins 0

Where would the Mets be without everyone’s favorite knuckleballer? Scary thought, isn’t it?

Mets Game Notes

R.A. Dickey was his usual spectacular self, spinning a five-hit shutout. The Marlins hitters had no chance of getting together any kind of threat, and most looked completely befuddled and resigned to failing.

All the offense was provided by fly balls off the bat of Ike Davis, who drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly and two more with a mammoth two-run blast into the upper deck in right field. Davis has become a dangerous mistake / guess hitter who can sit on hanging breaking balls and demolish them. That’s bad news for pitchers who have read scouting reports suggesting that they feed Davis curves and sliders.

Something occurred to me while watching Daniel Murphy play short right field: why has no one placed a bunt in his direction this year? They’d get a hit every time by simply pushing the ball past the pitcher, especially when a lefthander is on the mound. Oh that’s right, no one knows how to bunt any more, because bunting is bad. Or something.

Murphy’s deep positioning does allow him to get to balls past the first baseman that many other second basemen can’t. However, it also opens up the area starting from his right hand and extending to second base / up the middle. Twelve here, a dozen there.

Speaking of positioning, and bunting, Gary Cohen brought up a good point: why does every team play their corners in when Ruben Tejada is at the plate? He doesn’t bunt, can’t bunt, and can’t run. Major fail by every scout in the National League.

Jose Reyes was picked off first in the sixth. It didn’t surprise me; what did surprise me is that it took so long for R.A. to pick him. Reyes was too busy gabbing with Ike Davis and laughing and taking a sloppy lead via dance steps that left him off balance. If I were Ozzie Guillen I probably would have benched him for such a blatant lack of focus. Sure, Reyes has a bunch of buddies on the Mets, but he can chat with them after the game. During the game, he’s paid handsomely to focus on performance, not fraternize. But, maybe I’m just an old schooler who doesn’t understand that today’s players just want to have fun and socialize.

Josh Thole is sinking toward Jason Bayville.

Steve Cishek looks like he has to go to the rest room, really, really bad.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Marlins do it again on Saturday night at 7:10 p.m. The scheduled starters are Jeremy Hefner and Josh Johnson.

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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. Joe August 31, 2012 at 9:27 pm
    Keith, who has done hair coloring commercials, is letting himself go a bit grey. Hey! What’s next? Comments against selling gold?
  2. argonbunnies August 31, 2012 at 11:34 pm
    This seemed to me like more of a “pitching” game than a “stuff” game for Dickey. His knuckler wasn’t consistently unhittable like it has been in his other complete games, and he gave up some hard outs. But he threw a couple key fastballs, moved the knuckler around well, and changed speeds brilliantly to get the biggest outs.

    R.A. is a joy to root for and the only reason I haven’t cancelled my MLB.TV subscription.

  3. DaveSchneck August 31, 2012 at 11:53 pm
    Joe,
    Short answer – last place without Dickster. Excellent post, dead on with every point.
  4. Crozier September 1, 2012 at 10:32 am
    “But, maybe I’m just an old schooler who doesn’t understand that today’s players just want to have fun and socialize.”

    That’s getting to be a tired theme, Joe. Where professionalism isn’t present, it’s a leadership issue as well. As long as you’re playing the Generation Gap card, don’t exclude the Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers in management.

    Totally agree with you on Dickey, of course. His stamina this late into the season is impressive as well. I’d also ask the question where the Mets would be if Davis’s April-June numbers had been equivalent to his June-present ones. He’d be on his way to 40 homers, and the Mets might’ve had a few more in the win column. Maybe next year.