Pirates 8, Mets 1 (5-7, 3 GB)

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Sorry for the late posting. Circumstances beyond my control. (Also, there will be no "rest of the division" posting today, due to those same circumstances - just know the Expos are still very bad, the Marlins are less good, the Braves are gaining ground, and the Phillies have passed the Mets.)

This was a very bad weekend. I would like to pretend this weekend never happened. But we can't avoid the facts - the Mets lost three straight - at home - to a lesser team. The Pirates pitchers are not as good as the Mets hitters made them look. And the Pirates hitters are not as good as the Mets bullpen (and Jae Seo - 0-2) made them look.

As optimistic as I am, it's hard to believe the Mets didn't just screw up their entire season. But think of it this way - it's just one weekend. It's just three games. Lots of teams have three game losing streaks. Now's the time to show your fortitude and start winning again. And what better way to do that than have the Expos come to town.

The Mets NEED to win all four games against Montreal. This is not impossible. The Expos are 2-10, and have lost 7 games in a row. One of their best players (Carl Everett) is sidelined. The Mets have already played three games against the Expos, so they know what to expect. That's a recipe for success, and the Mets had better succeed. Four times.

Notes: We might get an inkling of the real Tyler Yates tonight. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt after last week's start - he had that six run inning against the Braves, in very cold, rainy weather. Tonight's a beautiful night. Let's see what he has...If there's anything encouraging to take out of the weekend series versus the Pirates, it's that Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel had two more very good starts, and after Seo gave up a bunch of runs yesterday, the bullpen didn't make it worse. The bullpen needs to get it together and keep games from getting out of control.