Home » Mets 2013 Games » Mets Game 100: Loss to Nationals
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July 27, 2013 Mets 2013 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 100: Loss to Nationals

Nationals 2 Mets 1

No laugher this time. No win, either.

Mets Game Notes

As with the first game of this doubleheader, I had a work thing and missed the ballgame completely. Please post your comments. I’m back in the saddle for the weekend.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Nationals play again on Saturday afternoon at 3:05 PM. Dillon Gee takes the hill against Dan Haren.

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. Gabriel Peña July 27, 2013 at 7:23 am
    It’s incredible the lack of support for Harvey, but this is not so uncommon for great pitchers just ask Kershaw and Cain.
  2. Izzy July 27, 2013 at 7:24 am
    Murphy cost the game with one of his worst fielding plays in his illustrious defensive history. He needs to hit 400 to compensate for his glove in the middle of the field. Cohen can yell great play as often as he wants. It changes nothing.
    • Dan42 July 27, 2013 at 9:23 am
      The error was more mental than physical in that he could have taken a bow or two for the bare hand grab and still beat the runner by a mile with an underhand lob. A terrible throw caused by rushing when completely unnecessary.
      • crozier July 27, 2013 at 12:08 pm
        Bingo, Dan. My thoughts exactly. But that’s the problem with Murphy. It’s not a matter of whether or not he has the tools (Joe – since I know you disagree with this you needn’t bother chiming in. Disagreement noted). But he clearly doesn’t have the smarts of a second baseman, and it results in an abundance of boneheaded plays. He has to eat that ball, and he knew it.

        That said, it shouldn’t have cost the Mets the game. Wright was totally off his game last night, which didn’t help; he probably deserved a night off.

        As for Harvey, he impresses me much more in games like this than when he’s overwhelming teams with four great pitches. He constantly battled with location, and missed with his curve all night. But his linescore looked the same as usual. If you missed the game you’d assume he was spectacular, but it was much more a mental performance. I predict he remains a great pitcher long after his velocity tails off. He’s a smart and tough dude.

        • NormE July 27, 2013 at 12:17 pm
          Crozier, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that Wright looked like he needed the night off. I’m not sure how much is physical fatigue as opposed to mental fatigue. Collins chose to give Q a game off and he wanted Satin in the line-up. So, I guess he thought it was too much to give Murph or Byrd or Wright a game off.
      • crozier July 27, 2013 at 12:12 pm
        Lagares had his pitch to drive; a fastball on a 2-0 count that he flat out missed. Still, I was more upset seeing him swing at ball four. He wanted to be the hero up there. I suppose that’s not altogether a bad thing, though. The Mets need aggressive hitters to win.
    • DaveSchneck July 27, 2013 at 12:07 pm
      Izzy,
      Agreed on the Murphy throw. Murph can go 6-8 with two HR and all we can remember is a throw a little leaguer would make. He literally could have rolled the ball to first base. No guarantee they would have won, maybe Parnell blows the game, but no matter how much he works at it, he still makes poor plays that are absolutely bewildering. I’d much prefer to just see a grounder through the wickets than a blunder like that.
  3. TexasGusCC July 27, 2013 at 9:19 am
    Izzy, I have to say, that in the 9th, Lagares cannot get jammed on a 3-1 pitch and pop out to first. Had Lagares been less anxious, and gotten the job done, Parnell is saving it in the bottom of the 9th. Hawkins’ pitch was high in the strike zone.

    I did not see the Murphy play, but I can only imagine how bad it was.

    • Izzy July 27, 2013 at 9:28 am
      Lagares is a rookie with little time in the bigs. To say he can’t be jammed is to say that no major leaguer ever ever should go for a pitch he shouldn’t go for. Why don’t you say that Hawkins should never have thrown a fat pitch to Zimmerman? Why don’t you blame every guy who didn’t get a runner in all game as there were several scoring chances off a long man, not an ace by any means. That’s the greatness of baseball. Guys are human and are trying all to be perfect. Murphy’s play on the other was pathetic. I don’t think he’s a rookie second baseman anymore.
  4. TexasGusCC July 27, 2013 at 1:27 pm
    Izzy, I didn’t see the Murphy play so I only wrote about Lagares. You’re right. He’s a rookie and needs to learn. It’s just that Soriano was falling part right in front of us, and he wiggled away.

    Murphy is a nice guy that can hit some, but falls into bad habits. He has some speed (eleven steals, I can’t believe it) but makes a plethora of base running mistakes. It’s not his fault that he’s a second baseman that is too stiff to really ever be successful.

    My opinion: The best place for Murphy is Boston. He can bang doubles off the wall, play first, third, and DH, and he will get enough rest to not wear out the way Collins uses him. He would excel in Boston.

    • The King July 27, 2013 at 2:50 pm
      Boston? I hear they have a decent LH DH. Murph is not an upgrade at 1st or 3rd. So I wouldn’t go out and buy the jersey quite yet.
  5. argonbunnies July 27, 2013 at 5:15 pm
    Lagares’ key AB:
    1 out in the 9th, men on 1st & 3rd:

    – Great job taking bait pitches to work it to 3-0.

    – Taking all the way on a 3-0 fastball down the middle. Dunno whether the take was called or not, but this is a horrible play with the go-ahead run on 3rd.

    – 3-1 pitch, catcher set up low and away, Soriano got under the fastball and it rode up and in. Was definitely over the plate; if Lagares takes it, it might or might not have been called high. Jammed by the movement running in. Basically, Soriano lucked out and made a perfect pitch by accident. The only thing you can ask of Lagares there is (a) to take a shorter, easier swing, or (b) take a tough strike in hopes of getting a better pitch to hit. I don’t think (b) is reasonable at this stage for a guy who strikes out a bit.

    Wright’s key AB:
    So, in the 7th, the Mets needed an actual hit, not just the fly ball that would have sufficed from Lagares. Still, Wright was facing an Ohlendorf who was well past the end of his rope, and simply needed to wait for the walk or the meatball that was surely coming. Instead, he swung at the first pitch, in a terrible spot, up and in. Same pitch Soriano threw to Lagares, same result (foul out to first), except Wright was facing a spot starter whose arm was about to fall off.

    Murphy’s bad throw:
    He’s made all sorts of errors, but this is the first bad throw from hurrying to turn a DP that I can remember. If that’s a play he always makes, I’m tempted to call it a simple physical error.

    On the other hand, he could have made the play easier by taking his time, as everyone has mentioned.

    The throw was so wild that Satin couldn’t even reach it. Josh did look a little confused by the ball and the runner arriving at the same time, which might have cost him a chance to knock it down and stop Werth from scoring. Josh does not look like a good defender thus far.

    Harvey:
    After the Nats helped him out by swinging at everything the first time through, Harvey started to nibble a bit in the middle innings. Possibly trying to protect the 1-run lead. Didn’t throw any fastballs upstairs for strikes. Not impressive domination… and yet he still made the big pitch when he had to. Somehow, 8 innings, no earned runs. Amazing.