In an effort to completely destroy any hope for the Pirates to get back to .500, the 70-83 Mets took on Pittsburgh tonight at Citi Field. Rookie pitcher Collin McHugh was on the bump and drew Wandy Rodriguez. David Wright was sitting on history tonight when he needed all but two hits to tie Met great Ed Kranepool.
The Rookie took a beating in the first inning when the Pirates put up a four spot with three base hits that included a three run bomb.
The Mets answered right back with three of their own in the bottom of the frame. It was Justin Turner, who hadn’t had a hit in 20 days that went yard for a two run shot to left field. It was followed by a David Wright shot that landed in dead center field for his 20th home run of the year. The Pirates answered right back in the top of the second when they put up a two spot and chased McHugh from the game after throwing only 48 pitches. They would add one more making the game 7-3.
Sandy Alderson joined Ron and Gary in the booth and spoke about evaluating players from the first half to the second half. Gary inquired about what he thought about what happened in the second half- Sandy talked about bullpen help in the beginning of the month but then discussed the problems of the team that seem to overshadow it. Sandy discussed pitcher performance and “approach” which was a strategy. Alderson raved about Matt Harvey. Gary asked about who is “staying and who is going”. Sandy said that they are assessing players now to make that decision. The Ike Davis issue came up and Sandy said that as long as the “situation” is handled with communication, there shouldn’t be a problem. Alderson also said that Ike Davis was not sent down when he was struggling earlier in the year because they were playing well and there was not right “situation”. Sandy said he would ”work hard” to sign both Wright and Dickey saying that Wright is the face of the franchise. Sandy also raved about the arms of Edgin and Carson.
The Met offense stalled the entire game until the seventh inning when the Mets began to chip away at the Pirate lead. It began when Torres lead off with a double, he was chased home by a Valdespin single cutting the Pirate lead by half. After a Valdespin steal of second, Tejada drew an 11 pitch walk, which prompted a Pirate pitching change. Daniel Murphy, who was in for Justin Turner, hit into a fielders choice. David Wright then came to bat with two men on and a chance to tie Ed Kranepool. And not only tied the record but chased home two more runs….It was Wright’s 1,418 major league hit.
The Mets would fail to score again for the rest of the game and lose to the Pirates 10-6.
7 comments
wanny
9/25/2012-10:55pm at 10:55 pm (UTC -4)
this quote from sandy makes it sound like we are more likely to lose RA this offseason than Wright:
“Well, I can’t dictate a time frame because there are two parties involved. In fact, the time frame already has been dictated by the other side in both cases. But our intent is to work hard to try to keep them both. They’ve both been great for us this year. David has been here and is the face of the franchise — has been. We’d very much like him to stay. I think he wants to stay. I’m sure he wants to know where we’re headed and the things that we intend to do to make it a winner. We’ll have that conversation at some point.
“R.A.’s situation is a little bit different in the sense that there is more immediacy there. Here’s a guy that’s 37 years old and is pitching and presumably doesn’t have the same horizon that a David Wright might. So at the end of the season we’ll talk with R.A. and see what he’s thinking and try to have him back. He’s been a great story this year. He’s been a great asset over the last three years, really.”
srt
9/25/2012-11:20pm at 11:20 pm (UTC -4)
Listening to SA in the booth on RA, I had the same thought.
If Dickey wins the CY and they wind up trading him b/c they can’t come to terms on a contract extension and/or Dickey wants out, that’s likely to be a PR nightmare for the Mets. Especially given the fact that RA’s a fan favorite.
darknova306
9/25/2012-11:27pm at 11:27 pm (UTC -4)
Irrelevant. The team is already a huge organizational PR failure in it’s own right, so this won’t make a difference. Thankfully, this FO won’t give in to fan nonsense and sentimentality. His value will never be higher, especially if he wins the CY, he’s got an extremely team friendly contract for next year, and he’d really only sign here again if he believes there’s a potential winner soon or he gets blown away by a contract proposal… neither is happening.
Stick
9/25/2012-11:35pm at 11:35 pm (UTC -4)
I agree. this is the perfect time to do all the dirty work, when they are already in the dog house with the fans!
Trs86
9/26/2012-7:42pm at 7:42 pm (UTC -4)
I hope you are right but if so then why wasn’t Reyes traded even injured, what wasn’t Hairston traded this year? I think the Wilpons are still driving from the Drivers Ed wheel a little too much, still worrying about ticket sales.
Pacific NorthTex
9/25/2012-11:29pm at 11:29 pm (UTC -4)
All depends on the return…
Stick
9/25/2012-11:37pm at 11:37 pm (UTC -4)
yup. have to do what is best for the team over the next 2-5 years. If trading these guys can give a much better shot at the future being good, do it.