Those last two games were just brutal to watch. While other series in the past 12 months have been more frustrating (the Phillies at Shea last month), discouraging (Dodgers, Twins), or just plain heartbreaking (do I need to spell this one out?), this was by far the ugliest series since the atrocious 3-game set at Fenway around this time last year, back when this blog was still in its infancy. By around the 4th or 5th inning, those 1st-inning rallies that gave the Mets a lead were a distant memory, as just about anyone the Mets put out on the mound sucked Rocky Mountain Oysters. Granted, it's not fair to place the blame entirely on the pitchers, as the defense behind them was shoddy at best. If it's better to be lucky than good, what is it when you're both unlucky and bad (and in El Duque's case, unlucky, bad, and slightly insane - seriously, a 3-2 eephus with the bases loaded?!)?
I'm glad that Coors Field is in the rearview mirror, as it brought out the worst in both our pitchers and our broadcasters. Between Keith not understanding why Mets fans hate Roger Clemens, Gary not knowing what a "weekend warrior" is, and that extended rant about hometown scoring, I'm really convinced that the mountain air limits blood flow to the brain. Next up is Houston, which while still a bandbox is at least at normal altitude. Hopefully Beltran sends a few into that joke of a short porch in left field and gives the Astros fans an actual reason to boo (seriously, Houston fans. Get over it. He was a rent-a-player who spent less than a full season with your team and chose to sign elsewhere, in part because the Astros didn't offer him a no-trade clause. He didn't sign with a division rival, it's not like his leaving prevented the Astros from making the World Series the following year, and as far as I know Beltran didn't pull a Mike Hampton and diss the Houston school system. The way he's treated when the Mets go to the juicebox is beyond ridiculous at this point.)
Thursday, July 05, 2007
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2 comments:
Back after a little vacation...
And your comments on Beltran and his Houston treatment are right on...
But right now, this team has many issues.
1) Delgado's slump looks more like a permanent decline
2) After a hot April, Green has reverted to spring training form and he and Valentin are competing to see how many weak grounders can be hit to 2nd Base. I now feel more comfortable with Gotay in the lineup and at 2nd Base, and I also feel that this makes Milledge untouchable since we need to replace LF and RF for next season.
3) Will we ever see Alou again?
4) The Bullpen is very united -- they all suck together or they all pitch well together. The opponents have figured Smith out it seems.
Delgado's slump looks more like a permanent decline
I'm not ready to go that far just yet. I think it's a combination of the offseason wrist surgery bothering him more than he's letting on and fatherhood altering his routine. In any event, I'm glad that Willie has at least dropped him from the cleanup spot to lessen the damage he does during his extended slumps.
After a hot April, Green has reverted to spring training form and he and Valentin are competing to see how many weak grounders can be hit to 2nd Base. I now feel more comfortable with Gotay in the lineup and at 2nd Base, and I also feel that this makes Milledge untouchable since we need to replace LF and RF for next season.
Neither Green nor Valentin has been the same player they were early in the season since their injuries. I think that with all of the other injuries the team was dealing with they might have put pressure on themselves to come back too fast. Gotay in the lineup is every bit as much of a revelation as Valentin was last year - perhaps moreso, given his youth and his patient approach at the plate.
Will we ever see Alou again?
I hope so, and I hope that if/when we do Willie has the resources to be able to give him more days off than he was getting before the injury.
The Bullpen is very united -- they all suck together or they all pitch well together. The opponents have figured Smith out it seems.
Except for Schoeneweis, who is all suck all the time :-P
The way Smith is struggling lately reminds me a bit of what Duaner Sanchez went through around the same time last year - absolutely unhittable for the first month and a half or so of the season, got smacked around for a bit, came out of the smack-around period with overall numbers that were still good. It says a lot about the power of a good first impression - if Smith had started the year off badly, he wouldn't be having a chance to show that he can reverse that, but because he started off well, he's being allowed the chance to struggle.
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