Never before have I received so much feedback from one Facebook status. I called the Mets' 4-5 record a disgrace.
And I'm seeing people, including people I haven't seen in years, telling me "Man, you have to calm down. You have a bullpen. It's a long season. It's a marathon, not a sprint." The deal is this. By no means did I say the season was over. But what I have watched this past week is the same crap I have been watching from the Mets since June 2007.
The home opener was depressing enough. Balk + Duaner + Heath Bell and we lose the first game in CitiField. Interesting how a former Met reliever closed out Shea Stadium and two former Met relievers closed down the first game in the new ballpark.
But the swing game on Thursday against San Diego was a carbon copy of last year, minus the bullpen ineptitude. It all started out so promising. Bottom of the first: Two on, Delgado hits a shot to Westchester County for a 3-0 lead. Then perhaps the most important starter on this team, John Maine (I say that because his success or failure may make the difference on how this team does, since he has potential, but is coming off surgery), gives it all back in the third inning. Starring such All-World players as Everth (I actually had to look his first name up for this) Cabrera, Chade Headley, Jody Gerut, and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Walk, single, sac, single, single, ground out, intentional walk, bases loaded single, single. 5-3. The Padres scored five runs in the third inning. The Padres! A team that was projected to lose 100 games. Five runs! The Padres don't have five-run weeks!
Let's look at the rest of the game and I'm going to focus on the Mets at-bats, but first I credit the bullpen for holding the Padres to one run over the final six innings. Third inning: Two on with one out, Church grounds out and Castro strikes out. Fourth inning: Murphy doubles down the foul line and Reyes goes to third base. He would have scored, but Steve Bartman's distant cousin who is wearing a Mets hat shows up and picks the ball up. So it's a ground-rule double and Reyes has to stop at third base! With two outs, Wright strikes out looking and the threat dies. Fifth inning: nothing. Sixth inning: Cla Meredith replaces Jake Peavy: nothing. Seventh inning: Edwin Moreno pitching: more nothing. Eighth inning: Our old buddy Duaner comes back in. Church reaches on a bunt single and Castro drills one into the left field seats. Now San Diego leads 6-5. Castillo flies out and Sheffield walks. That's about as productive an at bat as he has had to this point. A walk. Up comes Jose Reyes against the ex-Met who is throwing 75 MPH smoke. What does he do? 6-4-3 double play. Inning over. Ninth inning: We know who is coming in. That fat bastard Heath Bell. the ex-Met, who recorded the first save in Citi Field, which he bragged he would do for weeks, who was traded for a pair of stiffs in Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins, who has done more interviews in three days than Rod Blagojevich did in public image rehab tour, promptly retires Murphy and Wright. Delgado extends the at-bat to ten pitches and strikes out looking. Game over. Under .500.
I am losing my patience with Daniel Murphy on defense. Jerry Manuel does not even trust this guy to throw a ball home for a play at the plate. Reyes is running out to left field, getting a flip from Murphy, and then throwing the ball home. How embarrassing is that? How can this kid be the everyday left fielder when he can't throw the ball on the fly from shallow left field? And the Mets signed Sheffield because they want to make him an everyday player. This guy is 40 years old and cannot run. And the Mets now play in a park with the largest outfield in baseball. And there are a pair of defensive liabilities out there patrolling the corners. Ryan Church, who this organization has all but ostracized, should be playing every day.
I have seen Florida's exuberance and energy. I don't see how they will collapse. They will certainly win 85 games at least. With that rotation, that much speed, Hanley Ramirez hitting third, and Fredi Gonzalez as their manager, they are brutal to play against. Throw in the Phillies and Braves, this does not leave me feeling very inspired.
And what will the Mets do against the Cubs? Against the Dodgers? Against the Braves? Need I say against the Phillies?
Unlike some people, I don't care about the little intricacies of the ballpark. I don't give two cents about the color of the seats, about the ushers wearing red shirts, about some people not being able to see the left or right field corners. I care about performance on the field and I care about winning a championship. Because what I see is a weak rotation after Johan Santana, a much better bullpen, terrible defense in a pitcher's ballpark, and the same lineup that rarely gets big hits in big spots. And another thing. Brian Schneider is beyond hideous. I would take Todd Hundley or even Mackey Sasser out of retirement over this guy. the bottom line on this team is this. After three heartbreaking finishes in a row, how much more motivation should this team need?
And as I started this blog, another thing happened. The Mets took a 3-0 lead over the Brewers in the first inning tonight. Sound familiar. I did not feel comfortable. I said to myself, "They will not score more than five runs for the game." It is now the sixth, so there is some time left. But they have done nothing since that first inning. And Ryan Braun just drilled a three-run homer over the left field fence and Milwaukee now leads 4-3.
I deleted the last sentence I was going to write. Sheffield just hit a homer. Tie game. I want a sweep. That's not asking for too much, is it?
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