LOW FIVE

Braves 6, Mets 3 (ATL 4-1; NYM 0-5; 4 GB)

Two things I can't believe I'm saying after the first week of the season:
1) The Mets are 0-5, off to their worst start since 1964.
2) Cliff Floyd has been playing some outstanding baseball this past week.

The record speaks for itself. I'll speak for Floyd. He says he's feeling better than he has in five years. He looks it. Friday night he made an outstanding running catch in the left-center field gap that saved the game from being broken open. Last night he made two throws to the plate (granted, they were three-hoppers) that nailed Chipper Jones (in the first inning), and Adam LaRoche (in the sixth inning), again, keeping the Mets in the game. He's also swinging the bat really well. Too bad, though, he couldn't climb the wall and rob Brian Jordan of a grand slam....more on that in a minute.

I really thought things were starting to break the Mets' way after Floyd threw out Jones. Chipper could have been safe (I think he slid around the tag)...but the Mets got the call. That momentum was lost in the top of the second - after future Hall of Famer David Wright reached on an error, and Doug Mientkiewicz singled him to third, the Mets went down 1-2-3. Then in the bottom of the second, Brian Jordan hit a grand slam off Aaron Heilman. Just like that, it was 4-0, Braves.

THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, homered in the fifth, and the Mets actually got the go-ahead run to the plate, but Kevin Gryboski, relieving starter Horacio Ramirez, got Wright to pop out to end the inning with Atlanta up, 4-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, after Heilman looked like he settled in, retiring nine in a row, he gave up a solo homer to Chipper Jones, and the game was just about over.

I'm seeing some signs that some players are getting disheartened. Carlos Beltran hit a liner in the seventh, with a runner on, that was knocked down by the second baseman. He didn't even run it out, and there was a play at first that wasn't even close because Beltran gave up on it so early. No excuse for that...actually, 119 million reasons why there should be no excuse.

I'm getting a little disheartened too - especially since Braden Looper gave up a run in his one inning of work - he needs to get some confidence soon, or else he's going to be ineffective all year.

Another interesting piece - it seems that Willie Randolph is hitting David Wright sixth against lefties, Doug Mientkiewicz sixth against righties. I didn't realize that when the season started.

Here's another positive comment about something non-Mets. Though I don't necessarily like the broadcasters (particularly the addition of Ron Gant), TBS has some added features I like this year. The first thing I noticed was a lead measuring graphic when a runner is on first base. Using the third base camera angle where you usually see the pitcher, runner, and first baseman, TBS now has a graphic marking 9 feet off the bag, and shows whether the lead is a big one or a small one. TBS also has a cable cam, a la FOX and ESPN in football, which shows some different-looking overhead shots. The baseball version of cable cam is limited because of the fair territory, but this has some potential. The shots I saw last night weren't "great", as the broadcaster called them, but they were unique. I wouldn't be surprised if other stations started using these two features in their productions in the near future.

Also, kudos to the producer/director at TBS for this: In the second inning, Brian Jordan steps to the plate with the bases loaded, and the broadcaster says, "The last time Jordan faced the Mets as a member of the Braves, September 29, 2001, here's what happened....Grand Slam off John Franco." Then, the next pitch, was Jordan's grand slam. That's the type of stuff I'm looking for in a baseball game...which is why I was diappointed no one at ESPN last Monday commented on Kaz Matsui starting off two seasons in a row with a home run (a feat I learned was matched by Darryl Strawberry in 1987 and 1988, I think).

I've been meaning to touch base on a couple of former Mets. Franco has pitched in two games for the Astros, pitching two-thirds of an inning, giving up 0 runs. Armando Benitez is now closing games for the Giants - he has two saves. And Scott Kazmir is the number two starter for Tampa Bay - he pitched five innings in his first start, giving up 1 run, 3 hits, and striking out 2.

Pedro Martinez looks to get the Mets into the win column today against John Smoltz.

Expos 4, Mets 1 (47-48, 3 GB)

I'm starting to think the Mets may be no better than a .500 team. Luckily, that still leaves them just 3 games out of a playoff spot. But when you can't do better than a split against Montreal, let alone score more than a run in a game, you have to look at your team and think something's wrong.

I have a bunch of problems with Thursday's game. Here's a couple. Tom Glavine pitched great again, and again he gets nothing in return. At least he didn't get the loss. That went to John Franco, who served up a 2-run homer to Tony Batista in the 8th inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. That followed a dribbler of a base hit with two outs. I'm telling you, the Mets can't catch a break. Still, Franco can't keep giving up homers.

OK, another problem...HUGE problem. Why don't these major league baseball players run like they mean it? Good God, you just have to run hard a few times a game, will you do it once in a while?!?! Some instances, and they definitely cost the Mets yesterday:

Bottom 4: Kaz Matsui lines one to center field leading off the inning, Endy Chavez dives for it, misses it, the ball rolls all the way to the wall. Should absolutely be an inside-the-park home run, but Kaz is taking his time getting out of the box, and only ends up with a triple. The Mets go down 1-2-3 after that, so it stays scoreless instead of 1-0, Mets. I have a couple of problems with Matsui's baserunning. I've not once seen him slide into second base to break up a double play - he bails out as soon as the bag is touched. It wouldn't kill him to show a little more hustle.

Top 6: The only run off Glavine, a solo home run. The ball just cleared the wall by a little bit. Why does Mike Cameron give up on it so quick? He just stood and watched it, when I think he might have been able to catch up to it...I'm not positive that he would have robbed the homer, but he sure has done it enough in his career that I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But, oh, I forgot, he's wearing a Mets uniform now, so mediocre fielding is good enough right now.

Bottom 6: With Richard Hidalgo on first, Mike Cameron rips a double into the left field corner, with the score tied at 1. Hidalgo is being sent home, but after a few steps around third, he stops for some reason. The Expos catch Hidalgo in a rundown. They chase Hidalgo back to third. For some reason, as he's being chased back to third, Hidalgo stops, and runs back towards home. WHEN THIRD BASE IS LEFT UNCOVERED!!!! He could have easily dove (dived?) back into third base safely. But I don't know. Maybe I'm the only one who saw this. Ted Robinson and Fran Healy were too busy talking about everything else under the sun to bother to point it out. So maybe I'm wrong. But man, the Mets are killing me.

Good news: David Wright was 2-for-4, picking up his first two major league hits. His first hit was a double. He's just 2,998 hits from the 3,000 hit plateau, en route to the Hall of Fame. By the way, Wright also scored the only run of the game for the Mets. He was driven in by his co-first-ballot-inductee into the Hall, Jose Reyes. On his plaque, it will read, "THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED". Unfortunately, David Wright's Major League Baseball winning streak is over at 1. And the Mets are now 0-1 in games in which Wright gets a hit.

This weekend the Mets host the Braves. The two teams play for the first time since early April. If the Mets don't take the series, it might be time to spark up johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

Reds 6, Mets 4 (35-35, 3.5 GB)

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

First of all, how about that numerology? Mets are 35-35, 3.5 back. Too bad they didn't lose 5-3 last night.

So, I missed the first five innings of last night's game because of softball (more on that game later), but I saw the last 7. Apparently, I missed a lot more in those first five innings than I saw in the rest of the game.

Kaz Matsui is on very thin ice in NYC. I never saw the replay of where he was thrown out at the plate - but I don't care who you are - there's no way you can get thrown out at the plate on a ball hit to the wall when you're on second base!! I have to see that replay - I can't believe it happened. From what I hear, Jason Phillips could have scored on that play!

But the Mets got plenty of clutch hitting last night through the first 8 innings - they just couldn't get that last hit to get them to two games over .500 in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th. Didn't realize there was such a huge difference between .500 and two games over. It's a very sudden drop. The Mets would have been sitting pretty with a win last night...now they need to bounce back.

THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, suffered his first loss of the year in a Mets uniform last night. He's struggling at the plate, but he will come around. In a month, even a week, if the Mets are in the same situation they were in in the 12th last night, down 2 runs, top of the order coming up, they'll win that game. Last night, Matsui singled, then THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED Reyes grounded back to the pitcher for a double play. Very soon, that will be a single or a double, setting Mike Piazza up for a chance to tie or win the game.

The Mets also blew another opportunity to win the game in the ninth. With Todd Zeile on first, Jason Phillips pinch hit and singled to right field. Zeile went all the way to third, but was stranded when Matsui struck out, and "T.G.B.W.E.L." (yeah, I might start abbreviating that) Reyes grounded out. Phillips has kind of been the odd man out lately, since Piazza has been catching, and Eric Valent has been playing first, because the Mets have been winning with that lineup. But maybe that pinch hit will help Phillips heat up a bit. If I were Art Howe, I'd start Phillips today to get him some at-bats. At the very least, Phillips should see plenty of action this weekend, with the Mets playing at the Yankees, and Piazza likely DH-ing.

I don't fault John Franco for the loss. He was just facing a great hitter, and Sean Casey was looking for that pitch. It wasn't a bad pitch - nine times out of ten I think Franco gets a left-handed batter out on that pitch inside. But Casey was looking for it, and yanked it out of the park. Just a good hitter. I wasn't heart-broken when the Mets lost last night's game. It just makes today's game a whole lot more important - thank goodness the stopper is on the hill. Tom Glavine faces Cory Lidle. I know there's no such thing as an automatic win...but Glavine will pitch a great game today. Two out of three from Cincinnati will be good going into a weekend series against the Yankees.

Note: Annoying most of the time, Fran Healy can be a riot sometimes. Last night, Matt Loughlin (for you Boston readers, the "Mets' equivalent of Eric Frede, interviewing fans in the stands") interviewed a couple from Cincinnati who had gotten engaged in Central Park earlier that day. They had a sign that said, "MOM - SHE SAID YES!" Something like that. Anyway, the guy says something to the effect of, "I knew she'd say yes. I wasn't that nervous." So Loughlin tosses it back to the booth, and Fran says, "Confidence is a big thing in a proposal". Like he's talking about Mike Cameron breaking out of his slump or something. I swear, that guy doesn't know what he's talking about half the time.

WRIGHT WATCH: The Tides were off last night.

SOFTBALL UPDATE: Best game of the year last night. Outstanding. After last week's blowout win, which nearly tore the team apart due to the "running up the score controversy" (for those of you who don't know/don't remember, I - and other members of the team - were upset that some members of the team kept hitting the ball to the weak right fielder and circling the bases when we were already up like 30-3 or something like that), we played our most solid game of the year, winning 5-3! A 5-3 softball game, can you believe it?! It was a good one - we played great defense, and got some timely hitting. Although some members of our team were heard saying stuff like, "this game sucks. We scored 30 runs last week, now we can only get 5?!" How about, the other team is actually good this week?

The only other thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was when it was still light out, and the other team wanted to play another inning, a couple of our team members said, 'OK, but we already win the official game'. Come on. What a bunch of wusses. (We proceeded to go on to a 9-3 win, if the extra inning counted.) I can't believe they were scared we were going to lose. Anyway, we're now 4-0. I might miss next week's game - next week's going to be busy. I'll keep you posted, like you care.

The Mets begin interleague play today against the Minnesota Twins. The Mets are 28-28, 3.5 GB of Florida. Atlanta is also 28-28, 3.5 GB. Philadelphia is 29-26, 2 GB, and Florida's record is 32-25. See, when you turn the standings upside down, the Mets come first.

Anyway, that's your NL East Update. I know, it's crappy, but I really don't feel like writing about the other teams - besides, I wrote about the Marlins yesterday. Read that again if you want. OK, fine. Here's what I'll do - I'll give you the first interleague opponent of each of the NL East teams, but that's it.
Florida - at Cleveland
Philadelphia - at Chicago White Sox
Atlanta - at Detroit
Montreal - at Kansas City
That's it. Onto other things.

So the draft was yesterday. You probably want me to give you some breakdown of the Mets' draft picks, and predictions of how they'll turn out. What do I look like...some kind of loser? Well, here goes...no, I'm just kidding. I have no idea who these guys are. All I know about the Mets draft is that once again, they did not pick me, so I go another year without fulfilling my dream of playing for the New York Mets. I do know that the Mets' first pick (third overall) was Philip Humber, a 6'4'', 210 lbs. pitcher from Rice University. He won the championship game for Rice last season, for whatever that's worth. The only thing I hope about this draft is that the Mets don't go down in history as "one of the teams who passed on Steven Drew" or "one of the teams who passed on Jered Weaver". Those two were supposed to go very high, but fell to 15 and 12, respectively, because teams didn't want to pay the big money that agent Scott Boras would have demanded for them as top 5 picks. Oh well. Hopefully they turn into busts.

I'm sure you're dying to know how the softball game turned out. It wasn't as exciting as the first one, but our team once again prevailed, with an 18-9 win. So we're 2-0 on the year, and we're pretty darn good. But I found out there's no playoffs or anything, so what the heck are we playing for?!?! So that's the softball update. My wife will be writing a game recap for her company later today, if it's good, maybe I'll post that tomorrow.

Here's a little tidbit I had forgotten about but just read in the Daily News. Mike Piazza is a career .365 hitter in interleague play. Nice.
And I'll end with this excerpt from a conversation with my mom last night, who, it turns out, doesn't like Art Howe. Now, mind you, she thinks he's a wonderful person (How does she know that, I wonder...), but she says she just has to question some of the decisions he makes during the games. (If you know my mom at all, this is just hysterical.) Apparently the big joke in my house with my mom is whenever the Mets are in a tight spot and Art Howe comes to the mound, she says, "Uh-oh, time to bring in John Franco." I just thought I'd relay that story. It must be funny around my parent's house during a Mets game. Good thing I'm not there. I'd probably yell at her.

Mets 3, Expos 2 (7-9, 4.5 GB)

Thursday, April 22, 2004

It's not good when you have to battle for a win for the right to earn a split with the Montreal Expos in your own park. But it's a win, and that's the bottom line. This one got off to a start that made you think the game was never going to be in doubt - the Mets loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the first. Awesome! With Piazza, Phillips, and Cameron coming up, they'll at least get one run, right? Nope. K, pop-out, and backwards K. Looks like another long day for Steve Trachsel.

Trachsel (2-2) was great again. He's been unbelievable since his first start against Atlanta. He made just one bad pitch, giving up a solo homer to Brian Schneider to tie the game at 1 in the top of the seventh. And that's where this game differed from past Mets games recently.

Instead of making a bad situation worse, the Mets bounced back. They stopped the bleeding, kept it 1-1 into the bottom of the seventh. Then Mike Piazza and Mike Cameron hit RBI doubles to make it 3-1 (Cameron's barely missed being a homer to make it 5-1).

Then, John Franco with a very un-John-Franco-like perfect eighth inning. And the top of the ninth, the Mets stopped playing the crisp defense they had played all game, nearly causing Braden Looper to blow a save. But the way Looper bounced back after a Ricky Gutierrez error at third and Shane Spencer error in left field was great. Looper has four saves, and he was clearly irritated by those errors. But he got the outs he needed. I have more confidence in Looper, even with runners on, than in any Mets closer in recent memory.

Notes: It's good that Kaz Matsui is struggling like hell at the plate, but still managing to get on base. That wasn't supposed to be his strong point. But he reached on an error yesterday, and walked in the seventh to start the rally...Mike Piazza is swinging the bat great. And Ted Robinson and Fran Healy are going to drive me out of my mind. They've been brutal. But I have to credit Robinson with a great point - Piazza wouldn't have played yesterday (day game after a night game) if he wasn't playing first base. And even after the game, Piazza was saying the first base thing isn't such a bad idea, because it keeps him in the lineup when he's swinging a hot bat...The Mets went 4-6 on the 10 game homestand. Not good. This was their second-longest homestand of the year. They have two 11-game homestands later in the year. Big road trip. Must play at least .500 ball against the Cubs, Dodgers, and Padres. Preferably better than .500...Cliff Floyd should be back in the lineup when the Mets play the Dodgers. That's huge...And finally, if you get the chance to stay awake at the end of next week and watch the Mets at San Diego, check out Petco Park. It's a great-looking park, with a warehouse in left field that butts right over the left field wall. It's also a pitcher's park, which should benefit the Mets.