Results tagged ‘ Carlos Beltran ’
Not a Night to Remember
I heard people use the word devastating to describe what went down at Citi Field Wednesday night. Now that may be a bit too much.
It was nowhere near the nightmare that was Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. It wasn’t even nearly as deflating as any September loss to the Marlins could be.
Still, there’s no getting around the fact that this one was bad.
Sixteen hits, yet only four runs. An error apiece from a pair Gold Glovers. And to cap it all off, an extra-inning game-winning home run by Chase Utley.
Yes, as the back page of Thursday’s New York Post reads, this loss was “Utley Ridiculous.”
The Mets had chatterbox Cole Hamels (baseball’s most-overrated “ace”) on the hook and were in prime position to guarantee themselves yet another series victory over the Phillies.
But then, the seventh inning happened.
Carlos Beltran and David Wright looked like anything but Gold Glovers during the defensive meltdown that helped sink the Mets.
The Mets entered the top of the seventh holding a 4-1 lead, but back-to-back singles off Mike Pelfrey to start the inning made things interesting.
With Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez on base, Jayson Werth blasted a ball to dead center where Carlos Beltran had it lined up a step in front of the wall. One out, right?
No, Beltran did a cute little hop and a subsequent drop to load the bases with Phillies.
Simply put, that ball needs to be caught, especially by a Gold Glove winner (regardless of what some hack official scorer thinks).
Next it was David Wright’s turn. The heartthrob third baseman tried to come home and throw out Howard on a soft grounder from Pedro Feliz. The only problem was, he tried to throw home before the ball was even in his glove. Even the official scorer knew how to call this one – E5.
It may be a bit unfair to pick on Beltran and Wright for their shortcomings Wednesday night, especially considering the Mets had about as many chances to win this game as the Phillies have all-time losses.
But these two posterchildren of Mets Baseball get no sympathy here. They failed to make the routine plays when their club needed it most.
Meanwhile, Jayson Werth was busy pulling rabbits out of his cap in right field.
After the Mets received a pair of two-out singles in the 10th inning, Wright scorched a ball into the opposite field gap only to watch Werth do his best Ron Swoboda impersonation.
Yes, Mets fans, the catch was that impressive and although it wasn’t one of the greatest in World Series history, it ultimately won the Phillies a big game against a division rival.
Phils Flail to No Avail Against Frankie: The Mets’ lone highlight from the fifth inning on was an appearance from Frankie Rodriguez (there’s a new sheriff in town Mariano). K-rod pitched a pair of scoreless innings* to lower his ERA down to a miniscule 0.61. Not even the oh-so-impressive Philadelphia lineup can figure out Frankie, who has saved all four victories the Mets have over the Phils this season. Is it really the celebratory antics that irk you Philly? Or is just the fact that he’s nearly unhittable?
*-Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth before being helped out tremendously by a sparkling play from Fernando Tatis in the 10th. With one on and no out, Jimmy Rollins absolutely smoked a liner to first base but there was Tatis. He robbed Rollins of an extra-base hit before stepping on first to double off Chris Coste. Click Here to see the play courtesy of mets.mlb.com.
Recovering from Steel City Meltdown
I’ve been in seclusion for the past 36 hours or so. It took some time to recover from the 360-mile drive back from Pittsburgh, and even more so the series sweep.
Even after a couple days of reflection and thought, I still can’t figure out how what was a day-to-day sore calf turned into a hamstring tear.
Let’s face it. Even more brutal than the three losses to Pittsburgh has been the Mets response to the inordinate number of injuries the ball club has suffered in recent weeks.
The Mets medical staff and club management deserve a failing grade in the way they’ve dealt with injuries, diagnoses, and return timetables.
Still, what was left of the Mets’ opening day lineup propelled the team to victory Friday night in Washington.
Second baseman Luis Castillo, who looks a lot more like the 2003 World Champion second baseman than the slouch he was a year ago, led off the 10th inning by singling to right field. Carlos Beltran reached base for the second time to set the table for David Wright.
The Mets third baseman, who has struck out 23 times over 70 at-bats with runners in scoring position, shot a tie-breaking double up the right field gap.
Wright’s opposite field hit was followed by a base-running blunder as he was cut down going for third, but Frankie Rodriguez capped another stellar effort form the bullpen with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th.
Credit needs to go to starter Tim Redding as well. The Redding Express jumped back on track after two putrid performances and allowed only one run over 6.0 innings.
That is the type of start the Mets needed from Mike Pelfrey on Thursday in Pittsburgh, but received the opposite instead. Beware of hammering Big Pelf for his big stink though.
It turned my stomach when I listened to that whiney little school boy Evan Roberts bash Pelfrey Friday morning on WFAN’s Midday Show.
Roberts, whose credentials pale in comparison to those carried by the author of this blog, cried about how Pelfrey can be considered a No. 2 starter because of the awful performance he had on Thursday.
Apparently Roberts, who claims to watch every Mets game, hadn’t seen Pelfrey’s prior four outings during which he gave up no more than two runs.
Following his poor performance in Pittsburgh, Pelfrey stood up and admitted he let the team down with the “worst start of my career.”
So relax Evan. No need to bash such a sincere and talented guy like Pelfrey.
Big Pelf will be fine.
Outfield Delivery: No Need to Panic After all
Beltran, Church, Reed. Hits by each of the three allowed the Mets to tie it in the ninth inning against the Marlins Friday night only to see the Fish sneak by in the frame’s bottom half.
Beltran was the only one of the three who was considered a guaranteed contributor heading into the season. Church’s health (lingering concussion effects) and a lack of a heavy endorsement from manager Jerry Manuel were the target of questions. Reed, on the other hand, is new to the club, essentially trading places with former Amazin’ Endy Chavez.
Beltran and Murphy went a combined 6-for-10 at the plate. Church, who has answered the bell with a fast start, followed two of Beltran’s hits with a pair of his own.
Reed tied the game and even Gary Sheffield got into the mix with a walk.
The Mets corners are becoming less of question as is the outfield’s outlook as a whole.
mlblogsmetsmerized
Recent Comments