Mets sliding downhill as they lose first three of four vs. Atlanta
It was the third inning on a day that was described by SNY commentator Gary Cohen as "beautiful weather at 70 degrees" when everything seemed so peaceful. The Mets had a 1-0 lead and Mike Pelfrey, who was starting for the Mets, seemed to be on a roll and was mowing down the Braves lineup. However, a should-have-been routine grounder to second baseman Luis Castillo was bobbled and thrown late, allowing Mark Teixeira to reach base. Those things always come back to bite you, so, of course, the Braves ended up with three runs because of that, and never looked back.
Moises Alou left the game due to cramps in his left leg early on, as the Braves crushed balls into every gap at Turner Field. Marlon Anderson, usually an infielder, took some bad routes filling in for Alou, while Endy Chavez committed his first error since 2005.
On the bright side, Jose Reyes had two hits and a pair of steals, while Carlos Beltran started to show some signs of life with two hits, including a double. Carlos Delgado’s average dips further and further with every passing day. He went 0-3 to drop his average down to .217. David Wright also had two hits, including a single off the verrrry TIP of the bat.
The Mets will complete their horror series tonight at 7 pm in Atlanta, then fly out to Denver to face the Rockies at 9 pm tomorrow.
After pounding the Yankees deep into the New York ground, the Mets quickly killed any momentum they had and lost three games in a long two days that includedcontroversial comments by Willie Randolph regarding race.
Willie’s comments, Heilman on trade block, and Pedro to DR
Mets manager Willie Randolph had some comments the other day regarding race and his status in New York. He said that he may be treated unfairly because of his race, noting that even though the Jets went to the playoffs several times under Herman Edwards, he was treated unfairly.
This is an example of a time that Willie should not have said anything because anything he says will be used against him by the media. They want stories to write, so they want words to write about.
This is especially damaging to Willie’s status here in New York because of the fact that he is already getting hounded by the media since the Mets are playing ‘below their expectations’.
In other news, rumors are floating around that Mets reliever Aaron Heilman is on the trading block as the Mets search for a set-up man. Interesting.
Also, a day after Pedro Martinez announced that he may retire at season’s end due to his father’s health problems, he flew to the Dominican Republic to be with him, likely delaying his return to the team.
Mets drop both games of doubleheader
Coming off a very productive stretch where they beat the Yankees each time they played them, the Mets fell apart not only in the day game, but in the nightcap, also.
Old friend Tom Glavine started the first game for Atlanta, and somehow his mid-eighties fastball fooled batters left and right. It has for years now, causing me to think it really has some nasty movement on it if major league hitters cant get a piece of it.
Glavine got into some trouble early, but easily escaped. The Mets scored a run in the first, but then were shut down for the remainder of the game. Glavine went six innings, allowing only one run on three hits. John Maine, on the other hand, allowed four runs on eight hits for the Mets.
The first six hitters in the lineup were the only ones with hits, and each only had one.
Game 2
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Mets were hoping to get back on track and snatch the second game from Atlanta. Not so fast.
By the beginning of the fourth inning, Atlanta already had a 4-0 lead. The Mets started to come back in the eighth, but it was much too late to think about coming back. Ryan Church had two hits, but on the last play of the game, he was sliding into second to avoid the throw on a double-play ball when his faced was kneed and was taken to a nearby Atlanta hospital. Church is expected to report to the stadium today for pre-game warm-ups but is doubtful for the game (I’d better hope he doesn’t play today after already suffering a concussion in Spring Training).
Mets sweep Yanks in short series
First baseman Carlos Delgado unfairly had a three-run home run taken away from him by the umpires, and the Mets still won by nine runs, 11-2.
In the top of the fourth inning with two men on base, Carlos Delgado launched a ball toward the left field foul pole, and the ball dropped down and hit the pole. The umpire who was playing down the third base line originally signaled home run, but after the YANKEES argued, the umpires met up and were convinced that the ball was foul. At least it didn’t become a factor in the game with the Mets winning by so many runs, but the fact that a home run was taken away from Delgado’s stats is not a great thing.
Mets starter Oliver Perez, who can be scary at times, had his longest outing of the year as he pitched 7 2/3 innings, only allowing two runs. Joe Smith finished the inning off for him, while Scott Schoenweis pitched a scoreless inning to bring his ERA to 1.38
Jose Reyes has been getting hot and fast. He hit a double, the double that started the four-run fourth, off the wall that was played nicely by Bobby Abreu to prevent a triple. Reyes also hit a home run, his second in as many days. Ryan Church hit a home run in the sixth to give the Mets a 5-2 lead.
The Mets, who have won their second straight and fifth out of their last nine, found the perfect time to get hot with a big series against the division rival Atlanta Braves coming up.
Drug testing news is unfair
I am no advocate of steroid use, but the news I heard yesterday left me scratching my head.
Drug test results from over 100 players in 2003 that were supposed to be anonymous may soon become public, as the rights over who should possess them goes back and forth, reports the New York Times.
From New York Times writer Michael S. Schmidt:
"The test results were meant to be anonymous, and a battle over access to them has wound its way through the federal court system. The players union has tried to protect its members by arguing that the government illegally obtained the information."
I believe that anyone in professional sports who has been proven to use steroids in a season shall be punished severely, because they have an unfair advantage over the players that are not on steroids. Yet, at the same time, I believe that something that was supposed to be anonymous shall stay anonymous and should not be illegally stolen by the government.