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June 17, 2010 Mets 2010 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 66: Win Over Indians

Mets 6 Indians 4

A second sweep makes seven straight with the Subway Series on the slate.

If you listened on the radio, you heard Howie Rose say “put it in the books” through two sweeps. And you may have wondered if in fact there is a book on brooms. There is, sort of: Men With Brooms: A Sweeping Epic — though, it’s actually about the sport of curling, not baseball. But, I could see a similar book being written, titled “Mets with Brooms”.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey’s dancing knuckler cannot be stopped. He’s won his fifth straight game and has pitched at least 6 innings in every one of his starts. In this contest he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 7. In many ways his legend resembles that of Terry Leach.

Jose Reyes was a homerun away from the cycle, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. He’s now hit in nine straight games.

Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, Ruben Tejada, and Chris Carter each stroked two hits. Davis also drove in 2.

I still can’t figure out how Pagan isn’t hitting close to .400, when it seems like he’s 2-for-4 every game. Must be the new math.

The Indians’ defense and fundamentals continued to be absolutely atrocious, and had a hand in handing over the game to the Mets. Part of it is related to players out of position (i.e., Austin Kearns in CF), but again, it’s eerily similar to the fundamentally unsound teams in Washington the past few years.

So glad Pedro Feliciano was able to get into this game — especially after warming up but not getting into Wednesday night’s contest. He’s thrown 74 pitches (in games) in the past week, but who’s counting? A little extra work never hurts a reliever — just ask Fernando Nieve.

K-Rod managed to earn his 15th save without causing anyone a heart attack. The ninth inning was refreshingly only mildly stressful.

Next Mets Game

The Mets embark to the Bronx for a three-game weekend series with that other team from New York City. Friday night’s matchup begins at 7:05 PM and has Hisanori Takahashi taking the hill for the Mets against Javier Vazquez of the Yankees.

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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. Tom June 18, 2010 at 5:20 am
    Do you know what the deal is with the mound in Cleveland, and why these pitchers are complaining about it?
  2. isuzudude June 18, 2010 at 2:10 pm
    RA Dickey's story reminds me so much of Rick Reed. A pitcher cast off by countless other teams, only to resurface as a wily veteran in his mid-30s and prove to be quite the capable pitcher. Wouldn't it be great if Dickey gave the Mets 4 1/2 brilliant seasons like Reed did in the late 90s? Wishful thinking, maybe, but you gotta be impressed by his hot start.

    The true test of the roadtrip starts tonight. It's wonderful the Mets were able to go 6-for-6 in Baltimore and Cleveland, but let's face it – they are not comparable competition to what the Mets need to be beating consistently if they are to be taken as a serious contender. Go into Yankee Stadium this weekend and take 2 out of 3 (like the Phillies just did) to really make a statement.

  3. oktoday June 18, 2010 at 3:36 pm
    Yes "Go into Yankee Stadium this weekend and take 2 out of 3 (like the Phillies just did) to really make a statement". But I am a little concerned about Sanatna, and Takahashi .
  4. MikeTomaselli June 18, 2010 at 3:40 pm
    Agreed. The question I asked my friend in NY was this: would you take winning just one game in the Bronx if you were guaranteed not to get swept? The answer was a resounding no, I want blood, I believe the Mets can win 2 of 3 and maybe even sweep. My point is that you typically either would take the 1 win because you fear getting swept, or you don't because you feel 1 win is just as bad as getting swept, and you believe 2 of 3 is very doable. I expect 2, but would gladly accept 1, because I know this team will not be judged as a failure by only winning just 1.
  5. Joe June 18, 2010 at 8:24 pm
    From what I understand there is a hole that developed very recently, and for whatever reason they can't fill / patch it well enough to meet the satisfaction of some pitchers. Seems strange, with the ridiculous amount of money and resources available to MLB clubs, but I guess it has something to do with a mismatch between the mound clay and the filler material (maybe humidity / water content plays a part).

    On the other hand, I've witnessed first-hand some of the most treacherous mound conditions at amateur levels, and somehow, some way, pitchers are able to make adjustments and succeed. I guess once one is used to the pristine conditions of perfectly groomed MLB mounds, one can easily get finicky when things are slightly "off".