How far down will the rabbit hole go?
Bad timing for the ace of the staff to have a bad day. One day after a tough loss to the Nationals on the line out by Rod Barajas in the 9th that ended the game, Johan had his worst outing of the season going 5 innings with 3k’s and 5 earned runs. The Nationals never looked back to a 5-2 win.
Bad timing for Rod to be the catcher in todays game. In the first inning, Johan loaded the bases with 1 out and Willingham up to bat. Willingham hit a shot to center field that was thought to bounce off the wall. The runners on 2nd and 3rd scored easily but the relay throw was on its way home when Adam Dunn was rounding 3rd. The ball got home but Rod could not hang on to the ball when he took a shot from Dunn running at full speed. Dunn was called safe and as the ball was rolling away from Rod, Willingham was running home. Santana got to the ball and threw to Rod who after another collision, this time with Willingham, managed to hang on to the ball for the out. Turns out that shot by Willingham after a review was actually a grand slam home run…so Rod got tackled not once but twice for pretty much no reason at all as the hit turned out to be a home run anyway.
Bad timing for Jeff Francoeur to be so awesome. Jeff is hitting .444(good for 6th in the lineup behind Mike Jacobs apparently…) with 2 home runs and 6 RBI’s to start the season. Today he was 2 for 3 with a walk and a triple, providing the majority of the offense to start the season. He also had his 71st MLB career leading assist on a 285.5 foot throw from right field to Rod Barajas for the double play out on Adam Dunn tagging up at 3rd.
Bad timing for the Mets bats to almost literally fall asleep for 7 innings. Livan Hernandez went 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 0 earned runs. The Mets were 1-9 with RISP today(6-33 for the series), the one opportunity that the Mets cashed in was on rare hit from Jacobs, let alone the ultra rare event that it was a home run in the 8th inning with a man on against Brian Bruney.
Bad timing for the bullpen to be so awesome. The bullpen has now gone 12 innings in this series without surrendering an earned run. Who would have thought to start the season that our bullpen would be one of our strong points. Im sure didnt. Raul Valdez made his season debut against the Nationals and tossed 2 innings of scoreless relief.
And ultimately, bad timing for a club who had 19 players on the DL and finished 70-92 a year ago to start off 2-4. You know, the Mets have lost two series in a row to teams that are not seen as serious contenders for the post season. I know what most of you will say, the Mets are not considered to be contenders for anything either…to which I say Espn, Mlb Network and the bleacher report would agree with you. Granted, Im not the type of fan that writes the team off in game 6 of a new season but some of what we have seen in the early going with this ball club is unacceptable. I know the Mets are making money off of the SNY television deal but to see Citifield as empty and quiet as it has been ironically speaks louder about how the fans feel about whats going on. Gary Cohen said during the broadcast that he is wondering about the patience of this franchise, from the front office down to the players and managers. For a franchise that only 4 years ago won 97 games, this is truly a sad sight to see and to realize how far we have fallen is equally as depressing. I know my post game today lacked the usual dependable joking humor of Grave…but at this point, the Mets are becoming a very bad joke. There are roughly 156 more games to go and it would be ludicrous to suggest the Mets have hit rock bottom on game 6 of a new season but after suffering through 2 collapses and and injury plagued season that left us in 4th place, one begins to wonder how deep does the rabbit hole really go. For the Mets sake, I hope an end is near…sooner than later. Regardless of injury, the replacements are professional players and they should start playing as such. Im tired of the self accountable rhetoric without actual performance to back up the words. No, I cannot hit a 97 mph fastball or a 84 mph change up but you know what, there are people in the Mets organization who are showing that they can and are being held up for some misplaced loyalty to players who are undeserving of such loyalty. If things dont turn around soon, I dont see the difference in giving full time spots to kids in the organization who ARE hungry and DO want to perform. We have a tough schedule coming up, lets hope we are a better road team than we are in our own house.
Full wrap up available here.
Post game where Manuel admits his team looked “unprepared“. Thank you captain obvious…
Adam Rubin has more information regarding the K-Rod incident with Willie Harris in the 9th
28 comments
GravediggerHebner
4/11/2010-6:17pm at 6:17 pm (UTC -4)
Excellent call on Francoeur’s assist. On the fly, perfectly straight line into the catcher’s glove, pretty amazing chuck.
And he has 4 walks in 6 games, after having 23 in 157 games last year.
Francoeur’s overall performance and the current 13 1/3 IP scoreless streak over 4 games from the bullpen to me are the season’s highlights thus far.
dirtysanchez
4/11/2010-6:24pm at 6:24 pm (UTC -4)
they are the silver lining to the season, i agree. I know this was a harsh critique of the mets but im getting sick and tired of seeing the marlins come back to win games, phillies destroying everything, livan hernandez going 7 innings of no run ball, friggin bencher turned starter martin prado getting a base hit to drive home a run almost on a nightly basis and to look at us who cannot collectively get hits together to score runs. You know what, if the excuse is health than get people who can stay healthy. If the excuse is poor pitcher outings, then get pitchers who can get the job done. Its been 4 seasons already of heartbreak and this season so far looks to be going in the same direction. The AAA boys are hitting the cover off the ball but they will never, NEVER see the light of this MLB team because we have guys like 2-15 mike jacobs holding a roster spot. Im so sick and tired of this BS
Kingman 26
4/11/2010-6:29pm at 6:29 pm (UTC -4)
LOL! Took 24 hours for you to turn to reality!
dirtysanchez
4/11/2010-6:31pm at 6:31 pm (UTC -4)
I have not written off the season yet but i am quite annoyed at what is going on with this organization compared to comparable teams in our own division.
asod75
4/11/2010-6:35pm at 6:35 pm (UTC -4)
Living in Florida, it is very annoying to see the Marlins come back night after night with inferior talent. The difference? These guys are driven. They want to win and seem to have a manager that gets the most out of them. They play in front of an empty stadium most nights and make much less money than most players do, yet they play with a lot of emotion. Would be nice to see the Mets do the same. Their ineptitude with runners on is mind-boggling…..
dirtysanchez
4/11/2010-6:55pm at 6:55 pm (UTC -4)
I also live in Florida and i totally agree. Problem for the Mets is you cannot buy drive…you can only recognize it and reward it. I just feel like we are rewarding the wrong people
asod75
4/11/2010-7:04pm at 7:04 pm (UTC -4)
See Perez, Oliver……
rustyjr
4/11/2010-6:36pm at 6:36 pm (UTC -4)
The season is far from over – plenty of time to right this ship – I just have zero confidence in Jerry
asod75
4/11/2010-6:48pm at 6:48 pm (UTC -4)
Oh I know…Jerry is the worst. Should have been fired at the end of last year, no question.
asod75
4/11/2010-6:28pm at 6:28 pm (UTC -4)
Indeed, Francoeur has been outstanding, and the bullpen is pitching well lately. Just hope they don’t get burned out early, as no starter has gone beyond six innings (meanwhile Roy Halladay tosses a CG today for the Phils). Misplaced loyalty, I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Matthews should not be starting, that much is obvious. And Jacobs, his homer today notwithstanding, is pretty putrid. And if you insist on playing him, you’ve got to bat him seventh. Who cares about breaking up the righties if you’re going to put a crappy lefty in there? Just hit your best hitters at the top of the lineup. Besides, righties can hit right-handers much better than lefties can hit lefthanders, so the idea of needing to break Wright and Bay up seems pretty ludicrous to me. It’s depressing to be so down on this team, just a week into the season. But we’ve seen this so often, it’s like Groundhog Day, minus the awesomeness of Bill Murray…..
njstuckintx
4/11/2010-8:30pm at 8:30 pm (UTC -4)
The problem with Jacobs is he’s going to consistently do this to us. The inner monologue of Jerry: Suck, suck, suck, homerun… Oh, wow, he’s awesome, let’s keep him in there, Suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, homerun, oh wow, he’s awesome…
asod75
4/11/2010-8:35pm at 8:35 pm (UTC -4)
Jacobs is basically a really sucky version of Dave Kingman. Kingman basically had one skill, the longball, and not much else. But at least Kong would consistently hit 30-35 homers a year. Jacobs has done that once and hasn’t topped 20 in any other year. If the Mets were going to bring in a veteran power guy at a low cost, they should have taken a gamble on Garrett Atkins, off to a good start in Baltimore. Better player, but since he bats right-handed, they probably took a pass….
udontmesswthejohan
4/11/2010-6:35pm at 6:35 pm (UTC -4)
“Granted, Im not the type of fan that writes the team off in game 6 of a new season but some of what we have seen in the early going with this ball club is unacceptable.”
I agree. Been following this team since I was 7/8 years old in 1985 and I’ve almost always gone into the season with a positive outlook. I would certainly consider myself a postive fan, and I still want to do the same this year, but it’s just hard.
I think the most upsetting/disapointing thing is the complete lack of energy out there. Yes, it’s great to have Reyes back, but he is going to be a little rusty. It’s almost as if Reyes doesn’t single in the first inning, then this team won’t score any runs. If he does, they put up a 4 spot. Cmon’ people! Show a little life.
It’s one thing to root for a poor team, it’s an entirely other thing to root for a poor team that is like watching paint dry every other day. I’m not a huge Frenchy fan, but the man is clearly out there giving the effort, and producing.
Just give us something to root for.
udontmesswthejohan
4/11/2010-6:41pm at 6:41 pm (UTC -4)
Oh, and I will assume that I am not alone in finally being tired of Jerry’s ridiculous act. He’s overmatched and clearly doesn’t inspire anyone around him. Reyes getting hit by a car???? I know it was meant in jest, but I’ve had enough with this knucklehead already.
GravediggerHebner
4/11/2010-6:44pm at 6:44 pm (UTC -4)
Well they will be in the Mountain Time zone so they can fire Jerry tomorrow night at around midnight in Colorado and it will meet the organization’s criteria for firing a manager after the newspapers go to press.
udontmesswthejohan
4/11/2010-7:00pm at 7:00 pm (UTC -4)
It’s going to sound like revisionist history, but despite his flaws, I would take Willie any day of the week and twice on Sunday (today, as it were) over Jerry.
dirtysanchez
4/11/2010-6:48pm at 6:48 pm (UTC -4)
I think ironically, the 70-92 finish with the 19 guys hitting the DL saved his job. Ive been done with this clown. That SNY clip i just posted above says it all
asod75
4/11/2010-6:50pm at 6:50 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, that quote was awful. I know he was joking, but come on. Seems Jerry is more concerned about looking good in front of the cameras and the press than leading his team. He should be an analyst if that’s the case, not a manager.
udontmesswthejohan
4/11/2010-6:55pm at 6:55 pm (UTC -4)
Michael Kay, who I listen to as a last resort to Fatty, made a good point last week, or it may have been the week before, but he basically said that Jerry is good to the beat reporters, or at least tires to be, with quotes and stuff like that, so they don’t come after him with articles calling for his head.
I hate to admit it, but it’s beginning to look just like that. His schtick is tired and old.
It’s almost like the players are waiting for him to get canned. Like a guillotuine (sp.) hanging over everyone’s head. May as well get it over with.
rustyjr
4/11/2010-7:22pm at 7:22 pm (UTC -4)
My prediction – if this team is still floundering by the asb – the wilpons will say he is on a short leash and he will be fired oct 30th
rustyjr
4/11/2010-7:22pm at 7:22 pm (UTC -4)
My prediction – if this team is still floundering by the asb – the wilpons will say he is on a short leash and he will be fired oct 3
whataputz
4/11/2010-7:51pm at 7:51 pm (UTC -4)
Bad timing, bad manager, call a spade a spade. We’re a bad team. You’re not winning much when your rotation consists of an ace coming off an injury season, and lets face it, might not be the ace he once was, and 4 guys, out of which 2 will undoubtedly pitch terribly in a stretch of 5 games.
rustyjr
4/11/2010-7:55pm at 7:55 pm (UTC -4)
U r a eternal
optimist
metsfan4decades
4/11/2010-11:26pm at 11:26 pm (UTC -4)
How can you claim ‘we were unprepared’? It was Livan Hernandez. What? You didn’t get a good enough look at his stuff the half season he pitched for us last year?
Jerry is absolutely the wrong type of guy to be managing this current crop of players. They’ve got talent but I don’t see a team effort – again. Someone has to lead that charge. Jerry is not it.
This is the first year in a long while I came into this season w/o very high expectations. Good thing. I believe if I did have the same expectations I did coming into ’07-’09, I would be a heck of a lot more pissed off than I am right now.
ceetar
4/11/2010-11:50pm at 11:50 pm (UTC -4)
Has anyone told Jerry yet that it’s the manager’s job to prepare his team? Oops..
stickguy
4/12/2010-12:23am at 12:23 am (UTC -4)
I really hoped that this would be a nice, solid, quiet year. Just go about their business and win games. And hopefully minimize Jerry into the background. Oh well.
Now I am not sure if I should hope for a quick turn around to stabilize things, or a massive hole to blow to get rid of Jerry quicker. Still time for a manager with a clue to actually turn around the team, since they really do have talent on the roster.
Could a solid manager and new PC be enough? Maybe not, but it will have to help, and is certainly a good start!
a couple of fresh bodies on the roster will certainly be good too.
gipperpdx
4/12/2010-1:20am at 1:20 am (UTC -4)
Excellent post-game wrap cum harangue from Dirty,…very well said, all around.
gategem
4/12/2010-1:26am at 1:26 am (UTC -4)
If I may change the subject this just in from Newsday:
“In a stunning deal struck at close to midnight last night, the Jets acquired former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes from the Steelers in exchange for a fifth-round pick in next week’s draft.
Holmes, a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2006, made the winning catch in Super Bowl XLIII. He caught nine passes for 131 yards and the touchdown, which came with 35 seconds left against the Cardinals.
Despite the wide receiver’s brilliant play, his legal problems played a major role in his ouster from the Steelers. He faces a civil suit from a woman who accused him of throwing a drink at her at an Orlando nightclub March 7. He reportedly faces a four-game suspension for a possible violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
Holmes, 26, was arrested in October 2008 in Pittsburgh and was cited by officers for possession of marijuana. He was suspended by coach Mike Tomlin for one game but returned to play the rest of the season, capping it in the Super Bowl.
The Jets declined comment late last night on the trade, but a league source confirmed that the team would send a fifth-round pick to the Steelers in this year’s draft.
It’s the second major trade of the offseason by the Jets, who earlier acquired Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who also has legal problems. Cromartie has been hit with at least five paternity suits in the last two years. He told reporters last month he has seven children in five states, although he indicated he has worked out financial arrangements for child support.
Holmes addresses a need at receiver for the Jets, who wanted to add another target for second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez. Starters Jerricho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards return, but the Jets wanted to add depth at the position. They certainly have a breakaway threat in Holmes, who made a career-high 79 catches for 1,248 yards and five TDs last season.
The Jets began their receiver upgrade last season, when they acquired Edwards in a trade from the Browns. He is a restricted free agent, although he hopes to receive a long-term extension from the Jets.
Strictly from a talent perspective, Holmes is a major upgrade at receiver, although it remains to be seen whether he faces any disciplinary action from the league. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who expressed hope after the Steelers’ Super Bowl win that Holmes had turned the corner, is in the process of reviewing his case.
Holmes excelled at Glades Central High in Florida, helping it win state titles in his sophomore and junior seasons. He went on to star at Ohio State.”