Giants 7 Mets 6

It never should have come to this.

There should never have been a tenth inning, or a bottom of the ninth, for that matter.

In the bottom of the third, Jose Reyes led off with a single, stole second, and moved to third on a passed ball. Carlos Delgado was at the plate, and there were two outs. The Giants put on their ridiculous shift, which put third baseman Pedro Feliz in the shortstop’s position. Jose Reyes had a 50-foot lead off third base. This is NOT an exaggeration; if you were watching the game, you saw that Jose’s lead was slightly past the halfway point between third and home. Pitcher Matt Morris was about to go into a full windup, and if he did, we would have witnessed the first time in baseball history that a runner stole home standing up. Jose would have been high-fiving the guy in the on-deck circle by the time the catcher caught the pitch. Instead, Morris jumped off the mound, nearly balking, and coaxed Jose back to third.

However, Feliz held his ground at the shortstop position. Morris thought better of his initial plan, and moved into the stretch position. Jose still had a FIFTY-FOOT LEAD off third base. Smiling, Jose said something to third-base coach Manny Acta, who clearly told Jose to stay put.

WHY ?????????? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY ?????? !!!!!

With a 15-foot lead, Jose Reyes has a legitimate shot to steal home plate, on a breaking pitch. It would be close, and he probably would be out, but he has a legit shot with his speed. With a 40-50 foot lead, there is no question at all that Jose Reyes can steal home. Even I can figure out the math, and I’m terrible at math: it takes Jose less than two seconds to run 40 feet; it takes Matt Morris, from the stretch, at least two seconds to deliver the ball and reach home plate. Even if the pitch is perfect, it will still take time for the catcher to receive the ball and then move his hand to tag Reyes out. If Reyes — who is taking a jogging lead — goes full force when Morris lifts his leg, there is no possibility of Reyes being anything but safe. I don’t care if Carlos Delgado, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, or Babe Ruth is up at the plate; if the other team is going to give you a run like that, you take it.

But let’s not dwell on that missed opportunity. Instead, we’ll focus on Mr. Willie’s continued reluctance to allow Heath Bell to pitch.

After a tough doubleheader on Saturday, the Mets’ bullpen was pretty worn out. Heilman threw two innings, and Sanchez, Wagner, Feliciano, Bradford, and Oliver all threw an inning. The only fresh arm in the ‘pen was Heath Bell. So naturally, when Steve Trachsel had finished the seventh inning, who comes in to pitch? Duaner Sanchez, of course, who looks awful immediately and proceeds to give up three runs on two hits and three walks. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a Monday morning quarterback; I was screaming at the TV when Sanchez was instructed to intentionally walk Pedro Feliz. It just made no sense at all at the time, and afterwards, it makes less sense. Sorry, I don’t subscribe to the “let’s walk a guy since first base is open” strategy. If they walk Feliz because Bradford’s coming in, OK. But if you believe Sanchez is your man, and he’s not hitting spots, you don’t make it tougher on him by clogging the bases. And you don’t intentionally load the bases and play the infield halfway. Talk about sitting on the fence! Either you walk the guy and put the middle infielders back to double-play depth (corners in to go home), or you bring the infield completely in and pitch to the guy.

As it was, Sanchez’s command was way off, and after giving Feliz first, he walked the next guy on four pitches. Mr. Willie took him out three batters too late. And who does he bring in? Would it be fresh-armed Heath Bell? No, of course not; he brings in Chad Bradford to save the day (which he did).

Had Bell been brought in rather than Sanchez, there’s a good chance those three runs don’t score. Sanchez has been overused thus far, and has lately been struggling when asked to pitch on consecutive days. Bring in the fresh guy to throw strikes!

Thanks to heroics by David Wright, Jose Valentin, and Lastings Milledge, the Mets fought back not once but twice. The second time came in the bottom of the tenth, when Valentin and Milledge hit back-to-back dingers to re-tie the game at six. But again, it shouldn’t have gone that far, because in the top of the tenth, Mr. Willie needed to bring someone in after using Billy Wagner in the ninth. Does he use the fresh-armed Heath Bell? No! He goes with Aaron Heilman, who had pitched two innings yesterday. From the very first pitch, I could see from my living room that Heilman was tired; his arm angle was much lower than normal, his elbow below his shoulder, and his fingers were on the side and under the ball. Even with Heilman’s three-quarter, sometimes almost sidearm delivery, his elbow stays at shoulder level and his fingers on top of the ball. If he didn’t do this, he’d already have blown out his elbow and he’d never get the change-up down. The first change-up he threw was up, way up, and you could see he was under his pitches: a clear sign that he was tired. Rick Peterson should have been sprinting out to the mound immediately to find out what was up, and replaced him before he injured himself. Instead, he and Mr. Willie left Aaron out there to “tough it out”, and he was awful. He had no command, was forcing pitches, overthrowing, and I’m praying to god he didn’t tear anything in his elbow. This is one of the big reasons I am completely against Heilman in the ‘pen: because I know Mr. Willie has no clue and will ruin his arm doing exactly this to him. Heilman has very fragile mechanics — it’s the reason the Mets initially made him change his motion and throw more overhand. As a starter, it’s easier to tell when he’s tiring because you can see his arm drop a little as a game wears on. As a reliever, nobody pays attention to mechanics, until things are going horribly wrong (at which point it’s too late).

In the past, Jorge Julio was the guy to come in for that situation, so why didn’t Bell get the call?

Finally, in the top of the 12th, and only after Pedro Feliciano pitched an inning and a third, did Mr. Willie summon Our Man Heath. It was a setup: the Giants had men on second and third, one out, and Pedro Feliz is up again with the momentum swinging the Giants’ way. Heath did not have a prayer; the only way he could get out of the mess was by striking out two batters, or at least getting the first one to pop out to the infield. Anything else would have produced at least one run. (Why he didn’t start the inning is anybody’s guess!). Naturally, Feliz singled in the go-ahead run on a very good pitch by Bell, and then Ray Durham poked a cheap double whose fairness even surprised Durham. Eventually, Bell got out of the inning giving up only the one run, but he sure looked like the goat at the end of the game. And Willie was only recently quoted as saying, “I’ve always liked Heath Bell”. Yeah, rrrrriiiiiight …

Player notes

The loss was a goddamn shame inasfar as it wasted a glowing performance by Lastings Milledge, who appears to have a flair for the dramatic. In fact, he has flair, period … something that was called “hot dogging” in Reggie Jackson’s day. It’s becoming more clear every day that this young man was built for New York, and he may very well have already arrived. If he keeps up what he’s done in his first few games, Xavier Nady will be compared to Wally Pipp.

Carlos Delgado MUST start working on bunting down the third base line. This shift is getting stupid, and if the other team is going to give him a bunt hit, he has to take it. He could literally square around and still drop down a bunt that would get him to first easily, so long as he gets it away from the pitcher. It’s preposterous that he doesn’t try at least once to drag one that way.

David Wright remains unconscious. He’s unbelievable. And he’s only 23. With Pujols now out for two months, Wright has an outside shot at MVP if he keeps playing like this. He’s literally carrying the offense the last two weeks.

Jose Valentin remains red-hot, going three-for-six including the bomb in the tenth. He’s making me feel worse and worse about all the bad things I was saying, writing, and thinking about him earlier this year. If he doesn’t test positive for HGH he might become one of my favorite Mets before the season is over.

Mets 3 Giants 2

Thank goodness for Tom Glavine. And Paul LoDuca. And Lastings Milledge.

Glavine threw another gem, and once again bitten by the Mets batters’ incomprehensible inability to score runs for their aces. It seems as if the Met know they have to hit when a schlub like Jeremi Gonzalez or Jose Lima is on the mound, so they blast seven or eight runs, but don’t have to worry about scoring runs when Glavine or Pedro are on the mound. This penchant for getting eaten up by the likes of Josh Johnson, Jamey Wright, and any recently-called-up AA soft-tosser is getting a little silly. If not for David Wright’s being unconscious for the last two weeks, and the sudden propensity to win extra-inning games, the Mets would likely be sitting in second place right now.

As it turned out, the Mets won thanks to Paul LoDuca coming through with a leadoff single, getting chased to third on a double by Delgado, then allowing Lastings Milledge to pinch run and score on a shallow sac fly by the frequently clutch Chris Woodward.

It’s my own fault … I hoped for a fun and exciting season, and the Mets are delivering. However, I wish that just once in a while, the Mets could trounce someone … a 10-run blowout where the game is over by the fifth inning might be nice at least once in a while.

Giants 6 Mets 4

This was a tough one to watch … the kind of game that turns my stomach.

As much as El Duque brings to the team in terms of experience, guts, and winning, there is this ugly side of him that we will see perhaps 50% of the time. Though he managed to get through a decent five innings, he threw an astounding number of pitches, which in the end contributed to his total collapse in the sixth inning, when he blew a 4-2 lead. There was no point in the game where he was cruising, and it seems like he tries to strike out every single batter. This isn’t a bad plan if you are Nolan Ryan, and have no problem throwing 150-160 pitches a game. However, when you are Orlando Hernandez, and you tire after 90 pitches, you need to be more efficient, and get guys out with first-pitch popups and groundouts. We can only hope that El Duque pays close attention when El Pedro is on the mound — he the master of the five-pitch inning — and pick up a few pointers.

The Mets bullpen did an OK job keeping the game within reach, giving up only one run the rest of the way. However, you can only shorten a game so much, and you can count on the comeback kids only so many times before games that should be lost ARE lost, as it occurred in the first game of the doubleheader today. There comes a point where a team has to be serious in addressing their most glaring weakness: starting pitching. With the way the rotation is currently constructed, there is almost no possibility of making it to the playoffs; you can’t go far in a season with only two starters who can consistently get past the sixth inning — but never complete a game — and fill the rest of the rotation with three guys who you hope and pray can get you through the fifth. Eventually, the bullpen is going to crack, and it’s happening little by little already. Either the Mets need to find a solid 6-9 inning guy, like a Livan Hernandez, or they need to carry 15 pitchers on the roster.

The only bright spots in this game were David Wright’s three-for-four with two doubles, and Jose Reyes’s two runs scored and standup triple. There aren’t too many guys on the planet who can hit a standup triple on a soaking wet baseball diamond.

Mets 1 Diamondbacks 0

When the Mets broke camp at the end of March, I couldn’t figure out how or why both Endy Chavez and Jose Valentin made the big league roster. I was convinced that both of these guys were dead weight, and would be gone long before the end of May.

At the end of April, I still couldn’t figure out why both of these incompetents were taking up space on the bench, and worse, taking a number of at-bats while youngsters such as Jeff Keppinger and Victor Diaz rotted away in Norfolk.

Now that we’re on the cusp of June, Chavez and Valentin are not only proving their worth, but becoming integral parts of the first-place Mets.

Valentin has wrested the second base job away from Kaz Matsui (though, according to Mr. Willie, Kaz has remarkably not lost his job … he’s just keeping the bench warm while Valentin plays), and is red-hot over the last two weeks. Chavez has been a more gradual improvement, first showing signs of value when Carlos Beltran was injured early in the year, and continuing to be a sparkplug and clutch hitter in his limited role off the bench … a role that is becoming less limited every day.

Tonight, it was Valentin who smashed an opposite-field double to lead off the 13th, doing a very nice job of stroking a tough sinker off the outside edge of the plate. It was not an easy pitch to hit, much less drive to the outfield. After pinch-hitter Ramon Castro grounded out to short, moving Valentin to third, Chavez, who came in earlier as part of a double switch, ripped a high line drive over the drawn-in outfield to score Valentin and win the game. Another walk-off, extra-inning win for the Metsies, who are fulfilling my prediction that if nothing else, it would be a fun and exciting season.

Player notes ….

Lastings Milledge started for the second consecutive day in right field, in place of the disabled Xavier Nady, and looked so-so at the plate. In the field, he dropped a line drive hit straight at him, but more than made up for the miscue later in the game with a laser-beam throw to third base that retired Craig Counsell, who attempted to move from first to third on a single. His throw was electric, and had plenty of mustard; it harkened back to the days of Ellis Valentine (remember him?), who quite possibly had the strongest and most accurate outfield arm in Mets history. The scouting reports were dead-on: this kid has tools. If and when he puts it all together, we’ll have an all-around star. With his raw skills, he should at the very least become an all-around better ballplayer than Steve Henderson, possibly as good as Darryl Strawberry, and likely somewhere in between.

Carlos Beltran took a nasty foul ball to his knee, and I’m guessing Endy or Lastings will be starting in center for the remainder of the week.

Pedro Martinez threw another gem, eight innings of shutout ball, and left the game with another no-decision. This is the first time in his career he’s gone an entire healthy month without garnering a win. Shame on you, Mets batters.

Pedro, Billy Wagner, and Duaner Sanchez combined for 13 innings of shutout ball, giving up 7 hits, one walk, and 11 strikeouts, and they did it all in only 143 pitches (99 for strikes). That’s downright dominating, and amazingly efficient.

Taking another look at what was just stated: Duaner Sanchez threw 27 pitches (20 strikes) in three innings. That’s nine pitches per inning. Wow.

Carlos Delgado suffered another oh-fer, but all is not lost. He mashed a bomb to the centerfield wall but was robbed of an extra-base hit as Eric Byrnes made a spectacular catch. Delgado is hitting the ball hard and driving it well again, so it is only a matter of time before he starts finding the gaps again. What made his performance more encouraging was the fact he had these good at-bats against arguably the toughest pitcher in the league this year, Brandon Webb.

Byrnes, by the way, either just happens to be red-hot right now, or has become a Mets Killer. Maybe he’s ticked off at Omar for not being signed in the offseason to play right field. As I remember, in the week before the Delgado trade, there was a lot of talk that he would come in and compete with Victor Diaz for the spot, while Xavier Nady would platoon with Mike Jacobs at first base. (Personally, I like Byrnes, but I’m pretty happy the way things turned out.)

Anyone notice that Brandon Webb, Brandon Lyon, and Brandon Medders held the Mets to no runs on six hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. If the D’Backs had one more Brandon on the staff, this game might still be going on…

Off day for the Mets on Thursday, then the San Francisco Giants come into town on Friday. Tommy Glavine vs. Matt Cain.

Diamondbacks 7 Mets 2

So much for Soler.

Alay Soler really looks to have good stuff, a decent head on his shoulders, and good command. Unfortunately, the Arizona hitters took a liking to his pitching and battered him around for most of the five innings he performed.

Even taking away the homerun by Eric Byrnes — which again was a nine-iron shot off a pitch about an inch off the ground — Soler got hit pretty hard. Not sure what the issue is, but I’m guessing he’s either getting too much of the middle of the plate or his fastballs don’t move much, because he seems to have pretty good command of his pitches and changes speeds well.

Of course, it could just be the issue that he is still a AA pitcher, and not yet ready for prime time.

The problem, however, is that he needs to be, and this fact was struck home even stronger with the placement of Brian Bannister on the 60-day DL. That does not bode well, considering the only options left for the Mets are John Maine, who is just starting to come back from his finger injury (and still an unknown quantity), and newly acquired Dave Williams, whose ERA was over seven before being DFA’s by the Reds. Hopefully, Soler will bounce back and prove to be at least more effective than the Jeremi Gonzalez-Jose Lima debacle that we were forced to endure.

On the other side of the field, Miguel Batista did something that Mr. Willie has never seen before, and probably will never allow a starting pitcher to do in 2006: complete a game. Yes, that’s right, here it is in the 21st century, and somehow, some way, perhaps with the aid of modern medicine, synthetic designer supplements, and/or the grace of God Himself, a pitcher threw an entire nine-inning game. Randolph, of course, was shocked, flabbergasted, and in complete awe of this remarkable human specimen / freak named Miguel Batista. And unbelievably, Batista threw 124 pitches in his effort! No doubt Mr. Willie is wondering whether D’Backs manager Bob Melvin will be shot — or at least publicly flogged — for allowing a fragile professional arm to endure so many pitches in one evening.

Anyway …

Cliff Floyd and Jose Valentin were the only bright spots, both going two-for-four on the day with extra-base hits (Valentin a home run). The other interesting aspect of the game was the MLB debut of Lastings Milledge, who smashed a line-shot out to the shortstop in his first at-bat and later collected his first ML hit, a double, in the seventh. While it’s doubtful Milledge will remain on the big-league roster when Xavier Nady returns from his appendectomy, Lastings did exhibit his trademark lightning-quick hands, and showed the raw tools that predict future stardom.

Lost in the Lastings promotion is Victor Diaz, who was ignored when Nady went down. Is this Omar and Willie sending a message to Vic?

Wednesday night should be a barn-burner: Brandon Webb vs. Pedro Martinez. My prediction: Pedro tosses 7 innings of shutout ball, matching a one-run-allowed performance by Webb (the only run a solo homer by David Wright). Pedro is taken out for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the seventh, as he has already thrown 101 pitches. Webb stays in the game and gets the win, as the Mets’ bullpen blows another Pedro masterpiece and the Mets lose, 4-1.

Mets 8 Diamondbacks 7

Bottom of the ninth, tie game, bases loaded, no outs, Carlos Delgado at the plate, David Wright on deck … if you’re the visiting pitcher, how do you get out of it ?

The answer is obvious: you don’t.

The only question was who was going to do it to you. As it turned out, David Wright was the hero — or at least one of them; you have to give huge credit to both Endy Chavez and Jose Reyes for their heroics in tying the game.

Delgado, by the way, had a godawful at-bat, especially in that situation (pitcher struggling, infield drawn in, all pressure on the pitcher). He is really struggling lately … in fact, he is in the exact same place Cliff Floyd was in a week ago: over aggressive, flying open, ahead of everything. Delgado has been known to go the other way, and you could tell by the weak, foul popups in various at-bats that he is trying to go to left to break out of the slump. However, his front shoulder is flying up and open so quickly on the pitch, he can’t keep the hands back to drive through the ball. No biggie, he’ll figure it out soon and start mashing the ball all over the place again.

Three amazing things in the ninth inning: first, how did Endy Chavez NOT get a triple out of that drive past LGonzo? I’m guessing the wet basepaths slowed him down. Secondly, how did Jose Reyes NOT get a sac bunt down? As it was, neither issue mattered, as Reyes came through with another clutch hit RBI, driving in Chavez from second with a single. But finally, how is it that the D-Backs keep LGonzo out there in left field to finish the game? Do they not have a late-inning defensive replacement?

I nearly expected Mr. Willie to tell Paul LoDuca to bunt Reyes to second, despite his being already 3-4 on the night and red hot. Thanks, Willie!

Poor Steve Trachsel pitched what Mets officials consider a “good outing”: six innings, four runs … yet he was unable to grab a victory. He must feel like Pedro Martinez, whose last four outings were slightly better than Trax’s, and yet the Mets lost all four.

Now that Aaron Heilman is clearly ineffective as the seventh-inning reliever, it may be time to start thinking about finding him another role somewhere on the staff, as he does seem to show flashes of skill and competence. Since Darren Oliver appears entrenched as the Mets’ top mopup reliever, Mr. Willie might have to consider banishing Heilman to the starting rotation (perish the thought!).

I know, I know, it’s only been a few poor outings in a row for Heilman, and I may be a little overanxious in moving him out of the ‘pen. However, as we all know, the bullpen is the Mets’ strength, and the most valuable component on the team. If Heilman continues to give up hits and runs in his relief outings, Mr. Willie will have no choice but to get him out of there. Maybe Omar Minaya can pull off a blockbuster deal for a good seventh-inning reliever, such as Ray King or Scot Shields. Sure, it may cost us a Lastings Milledge, but we’ve got to fill that hole, and fast. Who knows, with the Royals in such disarray, maybe we can pry away Elmer Dessens, in a straight-up deal for Mike Pelfrey (Pelfrey doesn’t look to have much potential anyway; the Mets envision his future as a starter).

Tuesday night will be Alay Soler vs. Miguel Batista. It should be fun to watch Soler again; I’m rooting for him and hoping he is the real deal. Who knows, he may pitch effectively enough to be promoted to the bullpen!

Mets 7 Marlins 3

El Duque made his Mets debut in fine fashion, fulfilling the team’s need for a fifth starter to get through the fifth inning. He looked pretty good, outside of a three-run second inning, and likely would have been able to pitch into at least the seventh had he not been under Mr. Willie’s stringent 100-pitch limit.

Carlos Beltran remains on fire, and is producing the way he was expected to when he signed the $120M contract. At this rate, he’ll finish the year with over 30 HRs and 125 RBI.

As will David Wright, who went “only” two for four in this game. Wright has jacked up his average to .333 after going 7-9 over the last two games.

Another guy who is staying hot is Jose Valentin, who has now more or less established himself as a semi-regular. As long as he hits (and keeps his urine clean), he’ll be in the lineup.

Heath Bell finally made an appearance without giving up a run, though he did allow five baserunners in 2 2/3 innings. Part of his issue may be his adjustment from being a one-inning closer at Norfolk, where he said he “…put everything on the table,” to the two- and three-inning stints he’ll be expected to produce with the Mets. Whereas he was gassing it up for a few batters in the minors, he now has to pace himself for 30-50-pitch outings. Interesting, that his conditioning for one-inning bursts would have been a perfect fit as the seventh-inning replacement for Aaron Heilman, had Heilman been put in the rotation.

Steve Trachsel opens the homestand on Memorial Day vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Mets 7 Marlins 4

Ah, back on track … losing to the Marlins with Pedro on the mound against not-Dontrelle was a bit hard to swallow. Not sure what was more remarkable about this game: the fact that the Mets hitters had an easier time against D-Train than Josh Who?, or that it STILL takes three relievers to win a game when a Mets’ starter pitches two outs into the eighth.

Tom Glavine was once again, well, Vintage Glavine. And to boot, he struck out another nine in 7 2/3. He may very well finish in the top ten in the NL in strikeouts when it’s all said and done.

Aaron Heilman pitched less than stellar once again in relief, but it’s probably too late for him to claim a starter’s spot. I was really hoping he’d have a string of awful relief outings to convince the Mets brass that he wasn’t so valuable in the ‘pen. But, if he keeps pitching ineffectively, maybe the Mets will swap him into the rotation and make Pedro a reliever, since the bullpen is so damn important …

Carlos Beltran continues his torrid hitting, with two doubles in four at-bats. I’m no good at math, but it seems implausible that his batting average is still in the .260s, the way he’s been hitting the last three weeks.

David Wright came back from a day off and went four-for-four; maybe he should get a few more off days. In all seriousness, he sat due to back spasms, and complained that he still had pain, despite the 4-4. That’s just a little bit scary for Mets fans, who are hanging most of their hopes on the Golden Boy.

Carlos Delgado was given a day off against the lefty Willis, and Julio Franco filled in admirably, going 2-4.

Speaking of replacement players, Ramon Castro continued to establish himself as one of the top backup catchers in the game, blasting a solo homer in the fourth, and Chris Woodward had a double, a walk, and two runs scored as the leftfielder. It appears that Mr. Willie will be sitting Cliffy at least against the tough lefties, which is probably a good idea for two reasons: first, because he has been atrocious vs. lefties over the last 2-3 years, and secondly, he’s the kind of guy who definitely benefits from frequent days off. Even when not seriously injured, he manages to get himself banged up one way or another, and at the age of 33, is at the point where his body can use a little rest every once in a while. Watch him come back strong after the off day.

Big game tomorrow afternoon, as El Duque makes his Mets debut vs. some guy named Nolasco at 1pm.