Mets Game 161: Loss to Marlins

Marlins 4 Mets 3

One more to go …

Mets Game Notes

I suppose once a team has fourth place clinched, there isn’t much motivation to win. Maybe that’s why the Mets seem disinterested these past two games.

It would have been nice to see R.A. Dickey gain win 21, but he doesn’t pitch for a strong offensive club, and he was pitching opposite the next great ace of the NL East, Jacob Turner. R.A.’s knuckler wasn’t terrible, and his outing wouldn’t be considered bad by any stretch. Unfortunately, he threw two tumblers that were sent over the fence, and the Mets offense was completely perplexed by Turner. The Mets finally scored when Turner was on the way out as they mounted a three-run eighth to tie the ballgame, but didn’t have enough beyond that splurge to win.

When Andres Torres tripled with one out in the ninth, it seemed as though the Mets had continued the momentum of the previous inning, but both Ruben Tejada and Jordany Valdespin whiffed to strand Torres at third.

Jose Reyes — remember him? — tripled to lead off the 11th, and despite plenty of willy-nillying by the Mets (i.e., walking the bases loaded intentionally), they could not avoid fate. After striking out four times previous, perceived weak link Donovan Solano singled to score Reyes and end the game.

Reyes might have been thrown out at third, had Valdespin relayed the throw from the outfield to third base (this is why he’s called the “relay man” after all). However, Valdespin chose instead to examine the laces and survey the weight and circumference of the ball — perhaps to ensure it met league standards — rather than throw it. Or, maybe Valdespin was simply confused by playing the infield; most of his MLB reps this year have come in the outfield. Yes, that must be it — he was probably thinking he was still an outfielder, and was trying to locate the relay man, not realizing that HE was the relay man. If you have any better explanations, please share them in the comments.

Interestingly, the Mets were 4-for-10 with RISP in this game, yet scored only three runs. That’s not an easy thing to do.

Final Mets Game

The season finale pits Jeremy Hefner and Tom Koehler in a 4:10 p.m. start. There are over 2900 tickets available as of this writing if you want to fly down to Miami and watch it in person.

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.
  1. meticated October 3, 2012 at 2:49 am
    well….so little to say…if Dickey is judged on merit then he wins the Cy Young…but since hes a Met then expect a rude pile of sh-t at our doorstep come Novembers balloting…personally I cannot conceive of way out of the miasm that we find ourselves in…if we trade our tradeable assets then we suck again with a team without talent of the major league caliber…with few exceptions of course…not to spend is absurd if the

    business model is considered where to spend is to generate profit…maybe make Madoff a partner…he ran a successful scheme

  2. argonbunnies October 3, 2012 at 3:43 am
    Draft Pick watch! Number of wins heading into game #162:

    #8 Kansas City – 72
    Toronto – 72
    #10 NY Mets – 73
    #11 Seattle – 74

    Does anyone know how ties are broken in the draft order? (If it’s by 2011 record, then we’d pick before the Blue Jays and after the Royals or Mariners. But I just made that criteria up.)

  3. Izzy October 3, 2012 at 7:13 am
    Nice move by the fish giving Greenberg an AB. An organization considered one of the worst makes a great PR move. wonder why the Mets didn’t do it. Oh wait, they don;t make good PR moves. Guess the lord of rotten GMs and his owner freddy didn’t see any money to be made.
  4. Izzy October 3, 2012 at 7:14 am
    As for Valdespin, maybe he realized everybody wanted to go home, and was just doing his little part to help the cause.
    • Joe Janish October 4, 2012 at 12:03 am
      That’s a good point.

      Upon watching the replay, I wonder if it was a case of no one letting Valdespin know that he had a shot at throwing out Reyes, since his back was to the play as he was receiving the throw from the OF. Yet another small mistake that can be traced to lack of leadership. But since you can’t measure leadership, it doesn’t exist / doesn’t matter, right? Meh.

  5. Dan B October 3, 2012 at 7:23 am
    Meticated, I was just thinking the same thing. If the Mets were really committed to rebuilding through the farm, they would have to trade every asset that other teams might want–Neise, Wright, Dickey, Tejada,
  6. Dan B October 3, 2012 at 7:27 am
    Etc.. And if they did that, it would be years before we were contenders. If they don’t trade away assets, it will still be years before they are contenders since they dont have enough assets. And the Wilpons don’t have the assets to buy their way out. Ugh. This is all one big pain in the assets.
    • Dan October 3, 2012 at 8:03 am
      In Met years, 2019 is not that far off. Although the “Heilman is more valuable in the bullpen, Pelfrey must start, and sign Ollie” mentality seems to have disappeared, the consequences of that period, and the Wilpons shallow pockets will keep this team near the basement for the foreseeable future.
  7. DaveSchneck October 3, 2012 at 8:13 am
    Joe,
    You call the Mets offense disinterested. To say such a thing when they face a Turner, a Maholm, the Rockies bullpen 4 days in a row, etc., these are the modern day greats. No, no, the results from 161 games prove your discription to be somewhat off. This offense just stinks. Ok, and disinterested.
    • Joe Janish October 3, 2012 at 8:54 am
      Maybe it’s me who is disinterested?
      • DaveSchneck October 3, 2012 at 3:02 pm
        Disinterested is not how I would describe anyone, like you, that provides detailed recap and analysis of each and every game (unless blacked out by rich broadcasting companies). I only wish the Mets could field a team of players as interested in their day in day out performance as you.
        • Joe Janish October 4, 2012 at 12:05 am
          Dave, thanks very much, it’s appreciated. I do admit that there were a few points in this season when I barely had the interest / motivation / energy to post anything at all. Thank you and everyone else visiting and commenting for making it worthwhile.
  8. Steve S. October 3, 2012 at 8:57 am
    I guess Valdespin is not the “answer” either in CF or 2B. And at the plate, he’s a wild swinger much of the time.

    I’d be interested in seeing the fielding stats for Murphy at 2B POST-All Star Game……