Cubs 3, Mets 1 (7-10, 4.5 GB)

Friday, April 23, 2004

Who's going to start getting some clutch hits? The Mets need a big inning sometime soon, just to prove they can drive in some runs. First inning - Shane Spencer steals second base - a nice, aggressive play. But Mike Piazza leaves him there.

Bases loaded in the third. Piazza grounds back to Greg Maddux, for a 1-2-3 double play. Then Mike Cameron strikes out. How many different ways are the Mets going to let their opponents get out of bases-loaded situations?

Eighth inning - Spencer singles to short. Piazza and Cameron both strike out - at least put the ball in play guys! Make something happen!

I'm not even going to talk about Jason Phillips (0-for-his-last-23).

At least Jae Seo (0-3) looked better yesterday. Maybe he's settling down from the bad spring. We'll see what he has to offer the next time he's out there. Seo just gave up the homers to Moises Alou and Todd Walker, which is pretty good when you look at the Cubs lineup. Seo pitched well enough for the Mets to win. And has the bullpen turned a corner? After John Franco and Braden Looper pitched so well on Thursday, yesterday Mike Stanton and David Weathers held the Cubs scoreless in relief of Seo. That's part of what the Mets need to win games. The other part is putting some runs across the plate.

Notes: I know I said Tyler Yates' last start would tell us something about the young pitcher, but that was against the Expos. Now let's see how he does against a good offense. Today's the day - Yates vs. Kerry Wood at Wrigley Field. Let's go Mets. Gotta start winning.