AT A LOSS

Braves 3, Mets 1 (ATL 3-1, NYM 0-4)

Before we get to Friday night's game, two things. First of all, I posted on Thursday, after the Mets dropped to 0-3 against the Reds after an afternoon loss...but blogspot erased it. That's frustrating. The only thing I mentioned that was worth repeating was in that game, future Hall of Famer David Wright went 1-for-1 with 3 walks. He may have walked more in that one game than Jose Reyes, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, will all season.

The other note has to do with Friday night's game. I watched it on Turner South, with broadcasters Pete van Wieren and Skip Caray. These guys are so annoying...and they introduce the Mets lineup by saying Doug Mee-ehn-kee-wiz and Eric VAHL-ent. It's Va-LENT. I will say this about TBS and Turner South's coverage of the Braves games this year and last - they have a great running bottom line that updates scores and relevant statistics. They do a good job with that, at least.

I'm working a morning shift early Saturday morning, so I couldn't stay up too late for Friday night's game...and I don't know how much I'll watch of tonight's game. But I saw most of the action last night before I had to turn in. Another bad inning for a Mets pitcher pretty much did them in. Victor Zambrano had a rough first inning, giving up two runs, seeming to be unable to punch out the last batter...he was saved by Cliff Floyd, who made a great running catch into the left-center field gap off Raul Mondesi to keep it 2-0, Braves.

The Mets couldn't get much going against John Thomson. I refuse to believe this guy is good...he has to hit a wall soon. They made him look great last night. It could have been different though. TGBWEL Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, then was thrown out trying to steal second. I have an issue with this, because he slid headfirst, and was tagged on his foot. There's no way he was out...but oh well. Kaz Matsui then singled to center - it could have been 1-0 Mets...but instead, Carlos Beltran* grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The lone offensive bright spot was Mike Piazza's solo home run in the fourth inning - the first of the year for him and 379th of his career. That made it 2-1, Braves, and the Mets never got closer. Offensively, the Mets aren't playing too bad. They're hitting .289 as a team so far this season (as opposed to the Braves' .213), but I think the Mets are either hitting into an inordinate amount of double plays, or they're leaving a lot of men on base. Either way, things have to start breaking their way - because it's been a lot of tough luck so far this year.

Friday night, the Mets had one last chance in the eighth inning, down 3-1, but with Jose Reyes on second base (he successfully stole second this time), Matsui struck out.

Aaron Heilman makes the start for the Mets today, against Horacio Ramirez. Tomorrow, it's Pedro Martinez against John Smoltz. The Mets need a win.