Mets 7 Rangers 1

Against the best offensive team in MLB, Oliver Perez was terrific. The over-aggressive Rangers batters swung early and swung often, and Ollie gave them a steady diet of sliders out of the strike zone to induce dozens of swings that missed. Against a more patient team, I doubt Perez pitches seven innings of one-run ball. But I’ll take it. He struggled only once in the game, when he loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs, but he struck out David Murphy with a slew of sliders to get out of the inning — and it looked as though Ollie surprised himself by getting out of that jam.

Ollie’s final line: 7 IP | 3 H | 1 ER | 3 BB | 8 K

On the offensive side, Ollie was given plenty of cushion, with a lead he helped extend with a two-run single. After the Rangers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first thanks to a solo homer by Josh “The Natural” Hamilton, the Mets answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, and kept tacking on throughout the game. There were no big blasts, and no individual heroes. Rather, it was a collective effort — a TEAM effort. This is all new to us, so it needs to be pointed out. Several players gave up at-bats to move runners along, hustling runners took extra bases, and the lineup as a whole exuded an approach. Batters were taking pitches, being patient, hacking at good pitches, and cutting down the swing to get the bat on the ball with runners on. In short, having “an idea” and EXECUTING.

Notes

In the second inning, Ian Kinsler was awarded first base after a slider bounced off his foot. However, he took a check swing at the pitch — enough of an attempt that I would have asked for an appeal — and never made an effort to get out of the way of the ball. As it was, the point was moot when Michael Young grounded into a double play, but little things like this bother me. Why was Kinsler given first base on a pitch he practically swung at? Why wasn’t there a squeak from the Mets regarding the call? Why didn’t the announcers mention it? Am I a nutcase? (Probably)

How about Carlos Delgado? He’s hustling out of the box and running around the bases like a man on a mission. I waited a long while to call him out for dogging it, but I’ll be quick to point out his newfound energy. Kudos to Carlos for finally setting an example on the field. Hopefully it’s not too little, too late to save Willie Randolph’s job.

Speaking of, Kevin Burkhardt mentioned during the broadcast that he spoke to several Mets and got the impression that everyone on the team believed they played hard for Willie. If the players really said that, and really believed it, then there’s been a wide chasm between perception and reality for many of them. Or maybe, they simply don’t know what “playing hard” means. Tonight, it looked like the boys were competing at a high level. Again, let’s hope it’s not too little, too late.

So … Moises Alou goes back to the DL and is replaced with Robinson Cancel. Huh? This means the corner outfield positions will continue to be a weak-hitting conglomeration of Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley, Endy Chavez, and Chris Aguila (sorry, not feeling it on Aguila). On the one hand, I love the gamesmanship, smarts, and hustle brought forth by Marlon, Damion, and Endy. On the other hand, I don’t think a lineup that has Brian Schneider hitting eighth can afford to also have two of those three guys starting as well. Despite the AAA homeruns, Aguila doesn’t appear to be much of an upgrade — I think he’s broken his bat every time he’s made contact thus far. I’d like to see Val Pascucci or Mike Carp brought up here and given a chance to start a few games in left field. But Robinson Cancel? All he does is give Willie the comfort to use Ramon Castro as a pinch-hitter — which to me is a waste of a precious roster spot. In this day and age you can’t carry three guys who can only catch; at least one of them has to have some versatility.

SOOOOOOOOO cool to see and hear Willie Randolph turn into Eddie Murphy during the postgame conference with the media. If you missed it, try to catch some of it on MetsBlog. It was a natural, well-needed release of emotion and enough humor to get me laughing out loud. Those five minutes make me support and root for Willie all the more.

Next Game

The Mets host the Rangers at Shea in a 7:10 pm start. Pedro Martinez goes against Kason Gabbard. Coverage will be on SNY, WFAN, and XM 189.

Diamondbacks 5 Mets 4

For the second consecutive day, the Mets wasted an outstanding effort by their starting pitcher.

Johan Santana pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits and three walks, striking out ten in a 115-pitch effort. The only thing Santana did wrong was not pitch the final two frames.

Instead, the “setup” relief crew allowed Arizona to score two runs in the eighth, then closer Billy Wagner blew his third straight save opportunity by allowing another deuce in the ninth.

The Mets had a golden opportunity to salvage the game in the bottom of the ninth, as Jose Reyes led off with an infield single and was sacrificed to second by Endy Chavez. David Wright then ripped the game-winning hit down the third base line, but Augie Ojeda made a diving stab, holding Reyes at second and getting Wright out at first. Carlos Beltran was intentionally walked, and Carlos Delgado drew a walk himself to load the bases, and then Damion Easley smacked a grounder into the hole between shortstop and third to drive in the winning run for the second time of the inning. EXCEPT, shortstop Stephen Drew made a sparkling play of his own to stop the ball and make the throw to nab Delgado before he could slide into second.

Aaron Heilman entered in the tenth and gave up a leadoff double to Justin Upton to start the inning. Upton was sacrificed to third, though it looked like batter-runner Jeff Salazar beat Heilman’s throw to first. Heilman then struck out Miguel Montero on a great 0-2, inside fastball for the second out with Justin Upton on third base, but the home plate umpire missed the call. Maybe it was payback for the out call on first base? In any case, Montero sent the next pitch into right field, deep enough to score Upton with the winning run.

The Mets were so relieved that the Diamondbacks scored early in extras, they make three quick outs to make it easy for them to get to the airport.

Notes

What else is there to say? The Mets were incidental winners last night, and followed it up with another emotionally devastating loss. The morale can’t be any worse, the team can’t sink any lower. My only hope is that Willie Randolph isn’t made the scapegoat, because he’s putting the players into position to win — but they’re not executing. It’s a matter of personnel, and the first guy who deserves to go — Carlos Delgado — happens to be on a hot streak and has been caught hustling a few times in the last few days.

The Mets have entered a rut where they’re waiting to lose, rather than going hard after a win.

Mets 5 Diamondbacks 3

The Mets blew another one, then went into a coma, were lucky enough their opponents did also, and then finally recaptured a win in the lucky 13th inning.

Mike Pelfrey had perhaps his most dominating outing as a pro, throwing eight full innings of shutout ball. He struck out 8 D-Backs in the process, allowing five hits and two walks on 112 pitches. He was removed after allowing a hit to Stephen Drew to start the ninth, and received a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd. Right before the ovation, the crowd did all they could do to tell Willie Randolph he was making a terrible move by removing Big Pelf, but he either misunderstood the communication or ignored it, because he summoned Billy Wagner to the mound.

Wags proceeded to strike out Orlando Hudson, allow a double to Conor Jackson to put runners on second and third, and then K’d
Chad Tracy for the second out. Mark Reynolds then worked the count full, fouling off several pitches in the process, before sending the seventh pitch of the at-bat to deep left-center. The crowd, which had been on its feet and clamoring for a strikeout, fell silent in parallel to the ball’s downward trajectory beyond the fence. Billy Wagner’s face also fell, and the entire Mets team looked as though it received a collective punch in the stomach.

I was lucky enough to have seats at field level, directly behind home plate, about 12 rows back (these SNY connections are starting to pay off), and I can tell you firsthand that the Mets looked like a deflated balloon from that moment through the next four innings. The batters were going through the motions, seemingly trying to get the game over with. Luckily, the bullpen held the fort long enough for Carlos Beltran to find the energy to blast a ball of his own over the fence to win the game. Once that bullet left his bat, the Mets dugout was suddenly electrified, and the 38 fans left in the stands shared in the jubilation.

Notes

I’m beginning to think I’m some sort of Mets anti-jinx, or negative motivator. Pelfrey pulls this performance out of his backside just hours after my scathing post on MetsBlog stated

This team can’t continue to … believe this is the game Pelfrey finally puts it all together.

If the players are reading the blogs and seeking to prove knuckleheads like me wrong, I’ll be happy to continue writing critical pieces. Whatever it takes to win, I’ll do it. Heck, I’ll change the name of my blog to “FootInMouthToday.com” if it helps.

Got to see phenom Max Scherzer from an ideal view — just behind the umpire’s right shoulder. The kid can throw gas, but his mechanics scare me. He starts out smooth, but curls his throwing hand behind his back a bit and then comes forward with a violent release that jerks his head down. Every pitch he throws looks like it hurts, and I kept waiting for his shoulder to follow the ball to the catcher’s glove. I hope he can stay healthy, but with that kind of motion I fear he’ll tear something with regular work.

Beltran drove in four of the Mets’ five runs with his two hits. Marlon Anderson drove in the other run.

Aaron Heilman pitched two innings of scoreless, one-hit relief.

I questioned the decision to bring in Claudio Vargas in the top of the 13th, as this made the third day in a row he’s appeared in a game — as he’s not been a regular reliever since 2004. Hopefully Willie Randolph doesn’t get all Jorge Sosa on him, and think he can pitch every single day.

Photos

Since I had great seats, I got some decent pictures. That damn net, though, screwed up the focus on many good shots.

Next Game

Mets and D-Backs play the rubber match at 1:10 PM on Thursday, with Johan Santana facing Danny Haren. Should be another low-scoring game.