Fire HoJo!
Yes, I know it is early. Yes, I know the pitching staff is also to blame because of the grand slams and hundreds of other problems… 
but the Mets hitters are taking too many strikes, swinging off-balance, and leaving too many runners on. These players are supposed to be among the best in the Major Leagues, especially with the contracts they are under. How often do you find a first baseman making over 15 million dollars in a season with as many hits as I can count on one hand in two weeks and a batting average in the 100’s?
How often do you see a player that has a $199 million dollar contract routinely grounding out and jogging to first base at-bat after at-bat?
How about arguably the fastest player in baseball hitting the ball with such a loopy swing and stepping out of the box as a righty batter, making it impossible to reach an outside pitch?
Or even one of baseball’s best hitters, the third baseman, who is currently in the longest hit drought of his career?
Maybe it isn’t a good idea to fire Howard Johnson. I know the fans love the guy, but they don’t know much. Maybe the Mets shouldn’t fire him because they just fired a hitting coach last year during the season…
but what should they do? I can’t think of many other reasons than to find a better hitting coach.
Mets drop opener to Atlanta
The Mets lost to the Braves, 6-3, as Mike Pelfrey never could get into a rhythm, walking three Braves in the first inning and allowing five runs in his 5.1 innings pitched.
The only two players on the team with hits against rookie pitcher Jair Jurrjens were Marlon Anderson (who filled in for the slumping Carlos Delgado) and Raul Casanova. Casanova got the start due to an infection in Brian Schneider’s thumb.
This team has limited chances to get RBIs, and when those chances roll around, the RBIs don’t come. A team with this much potential and players with such great hitting histories shouldn’t be falling down to these levels.
Scott Schoeneweis, Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano, and Duaner Sanchez mopped up what was left of Pelfrey’s start. Smith was the only one of those four to give up a run. Wait, did I just say that Schoeneweis did not give up a run at home? Did I? Maybe I should look at that again. Wow, I am right. He actually did not give up a run at home. Maybe this will keep up.
Braves manager Bobby Cox was ejected for the first time this season following a David Wright walk to force in a run. The strike zone was unbelievably small at times, I’ll admit.
Next Mets Test
The Mets will continue the series against Atlanta with a 1pm game today at Shea Stadium.
Mets split two game series with Nats
Game 1 Final: Mets 7, Nationals 1
Some players, such as, Jose Reyes couldn’t even get a hit, but Johan Santana had two doubles for the Mets. Santana flew around the bases as he crushed the ball deep into the outfield. Who would have guessed he was in the AL for the beginning of his career and never hit? Well, we all knew that he could hit because of his triples at Shea Stadium last season when theTwins did play some away interleeague games.
On the mound, Santana (3-2) pitched an effective seven innings and allowed only two runs. Sanchez and Wagner pitched the eighth and ninth innings as each never even allowed a hit.
Acquiring Santana was huge in several reasons, but without him, stopping skids like this would be much more difficult for the Mets. Santana came in and stopped the bleeding at the perfect time.
Game 2 Final: Nationals 10, Mets 5
A three run lead in the bottom of the fifth inning isn’t a bad thing, but when your bullpen is as unpredictable as the Mets’ bullpen is, you never know what will happen. Take 2007 for example. But last night, the bullpen fell apart as quickly as it did against the Cubs the other night. You’ll never guess who was the scapegoat, either. Darn, you guessed right. It was Aaron Heilman. He gave up a grand slam just moments after Oliver Perez was relieved with two outs in the sixth. Two outs and he couldn’t even get one out. I’m not sure what to think of Aaron Heilman right now, because he has either done horrible or decent so far this season, with horrible being more often.
At the plate, Carlos Beltran hit a home run to right field as a lefty batter, much like he did at the old Nationals stadium. If things couldn’t get any worse, Jorge Sosa gave up three more runs.
It’s a bit sad to know that the Mets had a shutout going until the fifth inning, but the Nationals still were able to score in the double digits.
I, and Met fans all over, are growing impatient with the lack of production from Carlos Delgado this season, just like last season. He is getting RBIs, but he isn’t doing anything close to what he was supposed to do when he signed with the Mets.
Mets are refreshed and rested
The Mets flew out of Chicago to Washington last night following the quick series against the Cubs. There was time to sleep, but the time was in the wildest parts of the day. The team flew from Philadelphia to Chicago and arrived in Chicago at around 4 AM Monday morning. They played a night game, but they likely had to sleep through the day. The following day, the Mets had a short night as they played a day game before leaving.
This seems tough, but it’s even worse in the Minor Leagues where players sit in buses for hours and expect to perform at their best when gametime rolls around. If these players are not able to do that, their job is quickly on the line.
I’m expecting the Mets to get a nice start to this series against Washington, and here are a few key reasons why:
• The team ace, Johan Santana is pitching tonight coming off a win.
• The players should be well-rested with a long gap of time since their last game (night game after a day game). This team has several older players on it, and the older players need their rest. Carlos Delgado hasn’t been hitting so great as of late, so hopefully this will help him get back on track. If anyone can remember, he was doing well earlier in the month when the Mets had so much rest.
• Starting catcher Brian Schneider should be able to return to the line-up and try to keep his surprisingly productive bat going.
• At 6-15, the Nationals have Major League Baseball’s worst record. At the end of tomorrow’s final game of the two-game series, I’ll be interested to see what that record stands at.
Series Conclusion: Mets swept in two games at Wrigley
Because of computer problems, the post-game recap that I wrote around noon today about yesterday’s game was lost. I saved it, but when I came back to it, it was gone and nowhere to be found.
So for that reason, I will instead write a series conclusion detailing the Mets’ short-lived time in Wrigley Field for the season.
Last night, a close game turned into a blowout before anyone’s very eyes, as the Mets lost 7-1. Aaron Heilman allowed the bases to become loaded, including a hit batsmen, and this all with nobody out in the eighth. Somehow, he was able to get two quick outs including a pop-up, and nearly ended the inning. Nearly. A Ronny Cedeno shot up the middle unloaded the game and put the Mets to sleep for the night. When Heilman appeared to have himself saved, he let it slip out of his hands.
Following him, Jorge Sosa came in to try and finish the inning, but he ended up allowing a rocket home run to right field by Felix Pie. Starting pitcher John Maine got the loss, but boy has he had some bad luck? He only allowed two runs in a solid six innings.
Today’s game: Cubs 8, Mets 1
A struggling Mets team that was on a roll before hitting the road, was swept by the Chicago Cubs in two games at Wrigley Field. Losing the final of a three-game series in Philadelphia, then two in Chicago has put the team in a slump heading int
o the upcoming two-game series against Washington.
Surprising pitcher of the season Nelson Figueroa pitched five plus inning
s for the Mets behind very sloppy defense, allowing three earned runs. Scott Schoeneweis, who has been used very lightly as of late, pitched in the sixth and walked a batter, while Joe Smith came in and gave up a run. The walks seemed to be out of control, as F
eliciano then walked a batter, giving the Mets pitching eight walks on the day. If it couldn’t get any worse, Jorge Sosa allowed a walk in the eighth inning. Also in the eighth, Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam off Sosa. Ouch.
Now lets talk run support. What? Run support? I’m sorry, but I don’t see it. Five hits. FIVE! The Mets just haven’t had the run support since they lost the finale in Philly. This whole Philly thing keeps coming back like it’s haunting us. Angel Pagan, Carlos Delgado, Damion Easley, and Brady Clark were the only ones with hits, and each of them only had one, with Pagan the sole hitter with an extra-base hit on the team.
Let’s hope the Mets take their long time off until tomorrow night and rest up because they have been in the air and everywhere in the past few days.
Two big helping things coming up for the Mets: Rest and an ace! Money-man Johan Santana will try and be the stopper tomorrow night for the Mets’ first trip to the Nats’ new ballpark.