Mets Game 162: Win Over Reds

Mets 3 Reds 0

Miguel Batista closes out 50 years of Mets baseball in Nelson Figueroa -like fashion, spinning a two-hit, complete game shutout.

Mets Game Notes

If Batista chooses to retire, he couldn’t have chosen a better time to do it — finishing out on top, so to speak. OK, he didn’t exactly win the Cy Young, but finishing his career with a 2-hit shutout is a nice way to go.

Jose Reyes reached first base on a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the first, then was immediately removed from the game — a situation predetermined by Reyes, which he requested of Terry Collins. Personally, I don’t like Reyes ending the season — and possibly his Mets career — that way, particularly since he’s in a dead heat with Ryan Braun for the batting title. We can argue this six ways to Sunday (i.e., Reyes had more than enough plate appearances, etc.), but my feeling is that if you’re healthy, you should be on the field and continuing to get at-bats, and earn the title “fair and square”. To win a batting championship by purposely sitting … well that just doesn’t sit right with me (pardon the pun). Further, it wasn’t fair to the spectators, many of whom paid money to see the game and see Reyes in particular. I understand why Reyes chose to leave, and I’m glad he’s man enough to admit he’s comfortable with losing the title if Braun gets three hits tonight.

Collins became emotional during the postgame conference in talking about how he gained the respect of his players and how the team “overcame a lot of stuff”. Hmm … I’m assuming he’s talking about “overcoming” some of the injuries to key players and the losses of Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran. It was moving when he said it, but when you step back and look from a different perspective, it’s hard to describe what the Mets did this year as “overcoming” anything. I mean, look at their final record — it’s 77-85. Generally when one “overcomes” something, it also means there is success. To me, finishing 8 games under .500 — and two games worse than 2010 — is not success by any stretch of the imagination. But hey, a lot of people think mediocrity IS success, because there is this unmeasurable concept of “moving forward” or “going in the right direction” (which, ironically, is the mantra often repeated by those who also are fans of sabermetrics). Then there is the argument that sometimes you have to take two steps back to take one step forward. Whatever, we have six months to debate it … but bottom line is that, to me, the Mets didn’t “overcome” anything — they just “were” and continued to play ballgames.

Next Mets Game

Pitchers and catchers report at some point in mid-February. The Mets begin the 2012 season on Thursday, April 5th, hosting the Braves at what may be a shrunken Citi Field. But we’ll discuss that over the offseason, as well as many other topics, every day here at MetsToday.