Wagner Done For Year
Look out Mets fans! The sky is falling!
After feeling pain during a simulated game yesterday Billy Wagner is officially out for the season. He will have surgery to repair a torn MCL in his left elbow that will keep him on the shelf the rest of this season and probably well into next season.
This is exactly what we didn’t want to hear. Though the bullpen has been good lately they are in general disarray without defined roles. This could be a recipe for disaster. Luis Ayala has performed well as the closer but how long can he keep it up? Probably not long enough to win a World Series.
It’s nail biting time.
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Mats Hold Onto First Place
The Mets managed to avoid a 3 game weekend sweep at the hands of NL East rival Philadelphia this weekend by winning the third game of the series. The combination of strong starting pitching by Johan Santana and power by Carlos Delgado, who hit 2 solo homers and knocked in his 100th run of the season, averted potential disaster and kept the Mets in first place by 2 games.
The team has an off day today so they can catch their breath before starting a stretch of 12 games against the Nationals and Braves before closing the season against the Cubs and Marlins.
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Mets Brooms Sweep Brewers
The Mets took out the brooms yesterday and swept away the Brewers to complete a thoroughly satisfying road trip. Now they come home to play a crucial weekend set with the Phillies while trying to protect a 2 game lead in the division.
The bats came out early as the Mets scored 6 runs in the first inning which including a grand slam by Ryan Church. It was Church’s first homer since returning from the disabled list on August 22. The bullpen made that lead stand up by pitching 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
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Bullpen to the Rescue!
Who would have thought the bullpen would come to the rescue of a young rookie having a not so goo debut. That happened last night when Jonathon Niese suffered the worst start of his major league career. After being staked to a 5-1 lead Niese allowed Milwaukee to tie the game up before being lifted with no outs in the fourth inning. The bullpen then came in and pitched 7 innings of 5 hit, no run ball.
Carlos Beltran showed no ill affects of the knee he bruised on Monday when he hit his 22nd homer in the 3rd inning or when he fielded a ball and threw a perfect strike to Robinson Cancel to nail J.J. Hardy at home plate to keep the game tied at 5.
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Mets Beat Brewers
The Mets are on a 3 game win streak after winning the last two games in Florida over the weekend and one in Milwaukee yesterday (Labor Day). They have a 2 game lead on second place Philadelphia and a 7 game lead on third place Florida. The magic number stands at 23 but there’s a long way to go.
Yesterday’s game included heroics by unlikely source Nelson Figueroa and new hero Carlos Delgado.
I refer to Delgado as a new hero but he’s really a reborn hero. His first season for the Mets (2006) he had 38 home runs, 114 RBIs and 89 runs scored. His numbers dipped dramatically last year as he slumped most of the season. But he still managed 24 home runs and 87 RBIs. This yea he was giving more of the same until around the all star break. That’s when he began to turn it round. He currently has 31 home runs and 95 RBIs and has been mentioned as an MVP candidate. His 8th inning homer yesterday keyed a 3 run 8th inning that gave the Mets the win.
Also in the 8th inning Carlos Beltran hurt his knee sliding into home plate umpire Ed Rapuano, who was out of position at home plate when Beltran scored a run. The doctors have said that the knee is bruised and there is no tendon damage. Beltran is listed as day to day.
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A Tale of Two Finishes
What a change of fortunes for this team between the Friday and Saturday games. Friday night’s game was won on a Carlos Beltran grand slam in the 9th inning. Saturday’s game was lost when Aaron Heilman walked in the winning run after intentionally walking two batters to load the bases. Talk about inconsistency!
These guys are going to have to learn how to build a lead and maintain it if they’re going to have a chance of doing anything in the post season. You can’t depend on a 9th inning hit to win a game. You also can’t be giving up a lead in the 8th and giving the game away walking in the winning run in the 9th.
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Mets Recover Against Phillies
I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday but felt I should write something about Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia.
Carlos Delgado hit two home runs and Daniel Murphy had a key double to knock in an insurance run as the Mets scored 4 runs in the 8th inning to recover from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Phillies 6-3. This was a great shot in the arm following the sad 13 inning loss on Tuesday. A loss in this game could have sent the team into a tailspin. But instead they got up, brushed themselves off and didn’t give up.
Now, onto Florida for a tough 3 game weekend series with the Marlins followed by a trip to Milwaukee for a 3 game set against the Brewers before hosting the Phillies at Shea next weekend. A really tough stretch in the schedule that could determine if the Mets win the division.
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Lennon: Get Used To Minaya
Over at On the Mets Beat, his blog for Newsday, David Lennon has written about why Mets general manager Omar Minaya could be around for a while.
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More Than A Bullpen Failure
I remember one game when a Met pitcher was losing his stuff. I said to Casey, “This guy’s getting clobbered,” and Casey said, “I know, I want him to go nine innings so I can get rid of him tomorrow.”
– Wes Westrum
You almost get the feeling that Mets manager Jerry Manuel feels similarly about his bullpen. Or if he would feel similarly if there was a chance in hell of getting any new arms of moderate quality to replace what he’s got now.
Last night in Philadeplphia the Mets blew a 7-0 lead. The bullpen lost the game in the 13 inning. But the bullpen wasn’t the only unit to fail last night. The offense didn’t score a run after the fourth inning. This is a problem the team has been having but hasn’t been discussed so often because of the bullpen issues. Both problems need to be addressed if this team is to take it to the next level.
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Mets Will Probably Promote Niese
There are reports that the Mets will recall Jon Niese to replace John Maine in the rotation. Niese is 5-1 with a 3.65 ERA in six starts at AAA New Orleans. I’m pretty sure this will happen after rosters expand in September so Niese ill not be available in the post season.
Oliver Perez is probably going to start in Florida on Friday. That would have been Maine’s spot int he rotation.
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