Mets Beat Washington 8-4
Finally, the METS WIN.
After a long enough losing streak to make my hair fall out, the Mets rebounded with a strong enough start from Mike Pelfrey and an OUSTANDING bullpen job by Jorge Sosa. Sosa came into the game with runners at first and third with nobody out. He struck out the batter then got the next one to ground into what probably is the Mets’ biggest double play turned of the year.
Oh, and Mr. Delgado is expected back in the Marlins series.
Moises Alou, 41, extended that hitting streak to 23 games, the oldest player with that long of a streak in history. He had 3 hits.
Paul Lo Duca was drilled in the hand on a controversial strike called by the first base umpire as a result of a check-swing play. Lo Duca, as he does to every umpire, argued his head off before walking back to the dugout.
The Mets finally won tonight, as all Met fans should be able to sleep peacefully for the first time in a week.
The Mets’ Big Guns are pitching tomorrow and Friday, Tom Glavine tomorrow and Pedro Martinez on Friday, as the Mets look to hopefully start by extending the lead tonight to 2.5 games, then working from there.
Slidin’ Mets Hope to Turn it around as Team has Closed-Door Meeting
The Mets had a 6.5 game lead just 4 games ago, and now the lead is down to 2.5. That is a reason to worry, as the Mets blew leads in nearly every game since, showing that the bullpen is getting tired.
Closed Door Meeting
The Mets had a closed-door meeting with manager Willie Randolph prior to the beginning of the game, followed by a players-only meeting behind closed doors.
Also, Metsblog has posted a GREAT stat for any Met fans hoping to relieve their pains of the past week:
The 2006 Cardinals were in first place in the National League Central by seven games over the Reds with 12 games remaining. Over the those final 12 games, the Cardinals were 3-9 and ended up winning the division by 1.5 games.
The A.L’sTigers also struggled down the stretch last season, going 5-7 over there final 12 games to relinquish their lead in the American League Central to the Twins.
Tonight’s Lineup at Washington:
SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
LF Moises Alou
1B Shawn Green
C Paul Lo Duca
RF Endy Chavez
SP John Maine
Reese is Spoiling the Team that Accorsi Built
Giants GM Jerry Reese, as many people know, did a horrible job managing the Giants this past offseason, and it is showing on the field. The Giants defense, which was not upgraded at all, has given up 80 points in their first two games, the most since the 1966 Giants team that went 1-12-1.
That tells you that with the Giants losing players such as Carlos Emmons, LaVar Arrington, Brandon Short, and others, you would think that Jerry Reese would look elsewhere to boost up a defense that was already worse enough last year. The Giants front office managed to get a new defensive coordinator, one that I’m not sure I would trust. He was not even a defensive coordinator last season with the Eagles, he was a linebackers coach.
Ernie Accorsi, the Giants GM who recently retired, built a team throughout the years that included a draft-day trade for 1st overall pick QB Eli Manning in the 2004 NFL Draft, a tough, late signing of WR Plaxico Burress in that same offseason, and the signing of one of the best linebackers in the league at the time, LaVar Arrington. Arrington was doing fine last year when he went down with an injury in Dallas, and was placed on the season-ending Injured Reserve. Arrington announced in the offseason that he would be going to Giants Stadium every day of the offseason to work with coaches, etc. Jerry Reese apparantley is too cheap for that. Jerry Reese is apparantley too cheap for anyone. This is how he boosted up the Defense, which was already downgraded with the loss of several starting linebackers: He signed a mediocre linebacker in Kawika Mitchell. Wow, what else? Well, he did use the draft to get some defensive players, even know they are rookies right now. Well, any other way to help the defense? NO. He didn’t do anything.
What about the offense? Well, it only got worse without the quitter, Tiki Barber. At the same time, it is what I believe, the perfect time to really get Brandon Jacobs’ career underway. Jerry Reese had minimal upgrades to the offense, drafting WR Steve Smith and others.
Jerry Reese did not do a great job, or even a good job this offseason fixing up the Giants problems. The problems are still very well obvious, and any problems that may happen this season hopefully, and should be, blamed on Jerry Reese
Bottom Line: Jerry Reese is too cheap to be a General Mannager. He might think saving money will help the Giants in the future, but he can’t be throwing years away or else his fan support will go down the drain.
Weekly Mets Playoff Race Status: Philly Sweeps Mets
Well, nothing new on the Mets/Philly rivalry except that the Mets have no way to beat the Phillies…at all.
The Mets were swept for a second consecutive time to their closest enemy in the NL East Race, the Phillies. The Phils now sit 4 losses behind the Mets in the NL East, making this thing close yet again.
The Bad
The Mets bullpen turned from pretty good to pretty unreliable. The staff seems tired and inconsistant at times. Jorge Sosa is a very shaky pitcher. He made several starts in the beginning of the year, starting off great and falling down to eventually make his way to the bullpen. The Mets could really use him as a starter if he kept up the way he had. We’ll see how the bullpen turns out with the return of Joe Smith
The Mets need to finally, finally put this division away. The Braves are not going to make the playoffs, so the Mets only true worry is the Phillies.
The Phillies, according to ESPN, and everywhere, are the biggest “tease” in baseball. They ARE. They come back and nearly snatch the division away from the Mets, then drop everything they have in their hands all over the floor, only to pick it up again during the next few weeks.
The Good
The Mets have what they did not have last year and what they WANTED last year. The Mets were one inch short of the World Series last year, and this year they may have that boost they need, with the healthy, rested arm of future hall of famer Pedro Martinez, and the healthy leg of Orlando Hernandez. El Duque had some soreness lately, but it is nothing serious and the Mets will skip his next start mainly for precautionary reasons.
The Mets have a schedule of three things until the end of the year: Nationals, Marlins, and one game against the Cardinals (Make-up).
The Mets really need to win every series that they play for the rest of the year, and maybe drop some series 2 out of 3, but no sweeps can be allowed. If the Mets allow sweeps, everyone will doubt the Mets.
The Mets magic number, as it has all series, sits at 11. I’m guessing the Mets will clinch on my birthday, September 25, but that really is just a wild guess, and guessing on Magic Numbers never is very accurate.
David Wright became a 30-30 man today, extending his hopes for a National League MVP. Many say that he is a lock for MVP as long as the Mets make the playoffs, which looks to be happening.
Bottom Line:
The Mets should completely forget about the Philadelphia Phillies. They are done playing them for the season, and if they play them again, it will be an unlikely NLCS, because no division teams are allowed to play each other in the first round of the MLB Playoffs.
The Mets need to just take care of business and win as many games as they can until they clinch the division. Once the division is clinched, they can mainly rest, but at the same time, they really should make sure they wrap up Home-Field Advantage throughout the playoffs.
NL East Standings:
1. Mets –
2. Phillies 3.5 GB
NL Wild Card Standings
1. San Diego –
2. Philly 1.5 GB
3. Dodgers 2.5 GB
4. Rockies 4.5 GB
My Opinion: Giants Defense, Special Teams, and More
The Giants defense really didn’t show me anything different from last year except for the fact there were some different players in there. If the Giants defense just put up at least some average numbers, the Giants would probably be on their way to a division title. The only thing that will hold them back this season from clinching a division title will be the defense.
Just in the first week, the Giants defense was pathetic. First of all, the Giants elected not to use the cool-down system on the sidelines that the Cowboys used, which was a horrible decision. Players were exhausted the whole game, cramping up, etc. That still, though, is no excuse for people getting paid millions of dollars to deflect a pass or tackle a ball carrier.
The Giants offense is what keeps the team flowing. The offense did so great on opening day at Dallas that they were within 3 points of the Cowboys, despite the defense giving up 38 points to that point. 
Some plays on the Giants defense were noticeably pathetic. R.W. McQuarters just leaped to the football when the wide receiver grabbed it and took off for a touchdown. Come on, seriously. And also, even on Gibril Wilson’s interception, it did not look like he knew anything of what he was doing before the ball was thrown, just running around. Romo then figured that if there was nobody guarding the wide receiver, he might as well throw it. Well, Gibril was in the wrong spot at the right time, as he picked off Romo in what was an odd position to catch it.
I don’t know how well Steve Spagnuolo will improve this defense, but it is obvious he has work to do. If the Giants do not make the playoffs, it is obvious that Coughlin is gone, and if the defense keeps up the way its been playing, Spagnuolo will be out the door along with him. The offensive coordinator, though, Kevil Gilbride, looks like he’s just the right man for the job. Eli Manning had his best career game last week, despite the interception. Gilbride seems to be able to relate to Manning well, since not only is he the offensive coordinator, he was his very own quarterbacks coach last season.
Also, I’d like to state that Ahmad Bradshaw is the absolute worst choice for a kick returner. First of all, he is a rookie, and second of all, he has a horrible fumbling problem, and the Giants know it. Bradshaw fumbled the ball twice, once he was already down, but still that is embarrassing and unacceptable in his first career game. Bradshaw has been working with coach Coughlin on ways of holding the football, especially the way Coughlin taught Tiki Barber how to run. It was obvious that Bradshaw was not holding the ball anywhere close to how Barber held it for the past few years, and Bradshaw can be a severe liability when it comes to securing the football, especially with other teams catching onto his bad skills.
Lastly, I’d thought I’d end this on a good note. The Giants defense did stop the run very well throughout the game, despite Marion Barber’s touchdown down the right sideline. It seemed that anytime the Dallas offense ran the ball, they picked up no yardage whatsoever. That is the one and only positive feature that I see out of a Giants defense that has not improved at all from last year…YET.