Unhappy Recap: Marlins 6 Mets 1

It amazes me how a team that showed so much heart the night before, could die like dogs with no fight at all the very next game.

It amazes me how a team that is so good at getting runners on, is so bad at getting runners in.

Once again that's what this game came down to. After the starting pitcher put the Mets in an early hole again Delgado struck out with first and second and Church flied out with the bases loaded in the first inning.

In the second it was Reyes and Murphy who failed with two men on.

And in the third it was Church who evidently didn't break out of his slump, again failing, this time hitting into a double play with 2 on.

The Mets had one more chance in the 7th inning when a base running mistake by Ramon Martinez may have cost them, but best case it would have been a runner on third and 2 out so no big deal. But at the time it seemed big because the lead was only 3-1.

But then the bullpen took over. Of all the horrible games and innings turned in by bullpen this year, this was one of the worst.

Bobby Parnell showed the rest of the relievers have been rubbing off on him as he allowed a walk and a wild pitch, then a hit, allowing a run to score when Daniel Murphy committed another error. Then came Pedro Feliciano who can't get anyone out anymore. He hit the only batter he faced and may way for Aaron Heilman. Heilman actually got two outs, but he also walked 2 batters, including one with the bases loaded. I am so sick of this guy coming and walking batters. It's so sickening to watch. I hope this was his last ever appearance as a Met.

Joe Smith, the only reliable reliever came in to get the last out but it was too little too late as the offense let the Mets down again.

Now it falls to Johan Santana again who is going to come back on 3 days rest, after the most pitches of his career, to try to keep the dream alive for one more day. Doesn't seem like the best situation for him, but we shall see.

Unhappy Recap: Braves 7 Mets 6

How many times we have seen this same game? I bet there's been at least 25 times this year the Mets played a game with the following characteristics: Mets score early off the starter then go in the tank, the starting pitcher pitches fairly well, but allows too many baserunners and doesn't go deep enough and then the bullpen implodes.

I don't even blame the bullpen all that much for this loss. Schoeneweis, Smith and Heilman all gave up extra base hits in the same inning, but they got a little unlucky and were hindered by a horrible decision by Jerry Manuel.

Why the hell did he intentionally walk two guys in the 8th inning? It made no sense to put extra runners on base. He knew they were going to pinch hit Chipper if he walked Norton. So he added an extra runner AND put him in scoring position, and gained nothing. He should have gone after Norton and at least given the offense a chance.

Not that the offense would have done anything with it. Before I go any further though it's important to mention that you can't view this game as a one-run game. Carlos Delgado's homer only came because Mike Gonzalez was challenging him with a 3-run lead. Without that lead Delgado would have been pitched differently, most likely to a different result.

David Wright and Carlos Delgado are exempt from the blame for this game, they had 5 of the 6 RBI and 6 of the 8 hits. It's everyone else who sucked.

In the 6th the Mets started off with two walks, but Pelfrey couldn't get the bunt down. Inexcuseable. Reyes and Murphy went quietly and that was that.

In the 7th Wright and Delgado got on and on the first pitch to Beltran he squared to bunt? Why? He does this so often, and every time I hear he's doing it on his own. Why doesn't Manuel tell him "don't bunt on your own. Don't bunt ever, you're too good a hitter. Our bullpen is too bad to EVER play for just one run. Get up there and get a hit." Then on 0-1 Beltran swung at a pitch in the dirt and his at bat was wasted. When Church grounded into a double play the Mets had wasted two great chances to add to their lead.

With 17 games to go the Mets held a 3 1/2 game lead over the Phillies. During the last 10 games the Mets went 4-6 and the Phillies went 9-1. Sure seems like a replay of last year.

Unhappy Recap: Nationals 1 Mets 0

This is how the meltdown starts. First it was the bullpen, then the starting pitching, now the offense has gone completely in the tank, scoring 2 runs in 2 games against the Nationals.

I'm not ready to give up on this season yet, but this is starting to look exactly like last year. No one can make the play, get the hit, or get the out that's needed to win a game.

The Mets didn't get enough base runners to have a lot of serious chances to score but when they did, it was disaster.

They didn't even get a baserunner in innings 2 through 5 so the first failure came in the 6th inning when with 2 on and 1 out Ryan Church flied out and David Wright hit one hard, but it was caught for the third out.

The only other chance came in the 8th when Ramon Castro and Robinson Cancel singled with one out. Reyes tapped out the pitcher and Ryan Church struck out on a pitch in the dirt. And that was all she wrote.

Mike Pelfrey was excellent again after one bad start, but something always seems to go wrong when the Mets hit one of these skids.

David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado are a combined 1 for 23 so far in this series.

And the Mets lost Fernando Tatis for the season. Tatis was the one guy who had been hitting over this stretch and he is the Met who had proven himself to be most reliable in clutch situations through the year. His absence is going to force Manuel to play Church everyday and platoon Murphy and Evans in left.

Happy Recap: Mets 13 Nationals 10

I've said all season that the Mets biggest problem isn't their bullpen, but the lack of clutch hitting. That doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. The Mets are getting every key hit and are winning despite bad starting pitching.

Carlos Delgado went 0 for 3 but I'm still impressed by him. With the game tied in the 7th inning he went the other way and hit a sacrifice fly to score Wright with the go-ahead run. Home runs come and go but making contact with runners on 3rd and 1 out will always be there.

Carlos Beltran had another big game with 3 hits and 2 RBI, including a 2-out hit to drive in the first run.

And David Wright may have finally broken out. Four hits in four at bats culminating in that crucial home run to give Ayala some breathing room. Jerry Manuel says the extra time Wright has been spending in the batting cage with Howard Johnson is starting to pay off. If the Mets can ever get Wright, Beltran and Delgado all hitting at the same time, they're going to be very tough to beat.

Of course, the Mets seldom get this much offense with contrbutions from Jose Reyes who was on base 3 times. He also broke the Mets record for career stolen bases with 282. A record he later extended to 283. I expect Reyes to hold this record quite possibly forever.

Unfortunately Mike Pelfrey followed up a bad outing by Oliver Perez with a bad outing of his own. But this is a team game and it's so encouraging to see this team pick up their teammates during bad games.

With 17 games left the Mets now have exactly half the lead they had last year with 17 games left. But I'm much more confident they can hold it this time.

Unhappy Recap: Phillies 3 Mets 0

This was a tough game to lose, but not really a bad loss, Brett Myers was just too good. His curveball was incredible. They just couldn't hit him.

They did get a couple of good chances, but just couldn't get that key hit. Their best chance came in the ninth inning against Brad Lidge but Church's ball couldn't find the gap.

Mike Pelfrey was great again, but that homer by Dobbs really hurt. If Church had jumped a little higher, or a little straighter he might have been able to catch it.

I love the way Daniel Murphy plays. Two more doubles plus a great at bat against Lidge in the 9th, which unfortunately didn't end in a walk or a hit.

David Wright continues to struggle, especially with men on base.

I liked what I saw out of Ricardo Rincon against two very tough lefties.

The Mets need to get at least one of the next two games to avoid complete disaster.

Unhappy Recap: Marlins 4 Mets 3

There's a good reason Aaron Heilman leads the Mets in losses. He's absolutely gutless in a big spot. He comes into games and is afraid to throw strikes. He started the inning with a walk to Ramirez and ended it with a bases loaded walk. Inexcusable. I'm so sick and tired of watching this guy blow game after game.

But he's far from the only culprit in this horrible bullpen. Pedro Feliciano can't get anyone out right now.

And Duaner Sanchez allowed the game-winning home run. But at least he got the strikeout that ended the 7th.

It looks like Brian Stokes is the go-to guy out of the bullpen right now.

Mike Pelfrey pitched very well he just lost it in the 6th inning. Unfortunately this came right after Keith Hernandez said he was "cruising" and "dominating" and suggested he might be able to pitch another complete game. It was about that time he allowed 2 hits, a walk and another hit, to cut the lead to one. A lead way too small for the bullpen to protect.

And once again the Mets offense got out early, scoring 2 in the first on a David Wright home run. It was the 18th game of the last 22 that the Mets scored in the first inning.

They added a run in the third after a Reyes triple. Before tonight the Mets won 75% of the games in which Reyes scored.

But after that triple the Mets went in a complete funk, and it happens so often, and it's utterly inexplicable. The Mets got no hits from the 5th inning on, until Daniel Murphy led off the 9th with a single.

And then Jerry Manuel bunted him over. That move never works for the Mets. When you do that you are asking two guys to get one hit. In this case it was Easley and Reyes who failed but the Mets never seem to push that run home after a sacrifice bunt.

Another bad loss for a horrible bullpen in a game when Mike Pelfrey deserved better.

Happy Recap: Mets 9 Astros 1

The Mike Pelfrey and Carlos Delgado show. Delgado was awesome. I've said it all season, when he goes the other way he is a much better hitter. That first home run down the left field line was crucial.

That gave the Mets 3 more 1st inning runs, pushing their league-leading total to 111. That's an incredible 17% of their runs scored in the 1st inning. The only problem is, they usually don't add on to those leads. But they did this time, thanks another homer by Delgado, crushed to dead center. And the Mets cruised from there.

My only question is, why didn't Jerry Manuel get Pelfrey out of there after they took a 7-0 lead in the 7th. I think it's a good idea to try to conserve his innings, but not in close games, they need to do it in blowout games. As bad as the bullpen is, Manuel should have tried to use relievers for 2 innings to hold a 7-run lead.

There is just so much good going on for Pelfrey right now. Over the last 17 starts (exactly half a season's worth) Pelfrey has a 3.00 ERA. But even more impressive than that, his record over that span is 11-2 and the team is 14-3 in those starts. There is a lot of hope for the future for him, he is emerging as a very strong number 2 behind Johan Santana.

And the last time a Mets pitcher won back-to-back complete games was 1995. And it's been 7 years since a Mets pitcher pitched consecutive complete games.

Jose Reyes was in the middle of the action again getting on base both times before Delgado homered, and then tacking on 2 more runs with a triple, and chasing Pelfrey around the bases. The only thing more fun than watching Reyes leg out a triple is watching Reyes leg out a triple with a pitcher running the bases in front of him.

Now Pedro and Johan take the mound in a huge 2-game series with the Phillies.

Happy Recap: Mets 6 Braves 3

This is the Mets formula for success, scoring early with a few key hits then getting good starting pitching and keeping the bullpen out of it.

Pelfrey was great even though he allowed 3 runs. He went 9 innings, threw only 108 pitches and took care of the early lead. The only time he got in real trouble was a bout of wildness in the 6th when after a cheap infield hit (one of only 3 he allowed) he walked 2 guys and threw a wild pitch. But I'm so impressed with him that he was able to shake that off and pitch 3 more good innings, actually 3 more perfect innings.

The Braves defense was so awful, basically gifting the Mets 3 extra runs in the first inning. But you don't win by having teams make mistakes against you. You win by capitalizing on those mistakes and Pelfrey was the one to make them pay.

I love Daniel Murphy, he's slowed down but he's still getting a hit per game pretty much and contributing whenever he's in there.

Happy Recap: Mets 2 Pirates 1

It's never easy, is it?

What a play by Argenis Reyes after Delgado whiffed on that ball in the 9th inning. With Aaron Heilman's weak mental state and fear of throwing strikes, he saved the game with that play.

The Mets also got another huge defensive play from Carlos Beltran, gunning down a Adam LaRoche at home to preserve the 2-0 lead in the 7th inning.

Good defense also helped Pelfrey in the second inning, and in the 6th it was his good play that nailed Nate McLouth at third.

Why do the Mets score so many runs in the first inning (Gary Cohen said second most in the league) and so few after that? We've seen them take an early lead so many times and fail to build on it, only to have the bullpen blow it.

That almost repeated itself here after Duaner Sanchez allowed a homer, but Pedro Feliciano came in close down the 8th.

And a gutsy move by Manuel to give Heilman one more chance as a closer, and this time he got it done. I still have no confidence in him but he can't blow every single game, even though it seems that way.

Unhappy Recap: Marlins 8 Mets 2

Not much to say about this one, except that Mike Pelfrey got killed. It's too early to get worried about him, but this is 2 out of 3 bad starts and he might be falling into some bad habits again.

Specifically, he gave up 3 straight 2 out hits in the 4th, and he could have gotten out of it by getting the 8th place hitter (I would have walked him to face the pitcher). And again in the 5th, after he got 2 outs he allowed a walk, a double, a hit by pitch and another walk before he got yanked.

The offense wasn't much to speak of, but Daniel Murphy got another hit, but his average fell to .478.

Happy Recap: Mets 6 Padres 5

This sure doesn't feel like a happy recap. But maybe there is a bright side (in addition to winning), the Aaron Heilman as closer experiment ended before it started, and without costing the team a single victory.

Obviously Aaron Heilman sucks and there's nothing that's going to fix him. He's allowed runs in four of his last five outings and been the losing pitcher in four of his last seven. He did have a string of 10 scoreless appearances in late June, so he can be effective but right now he's just awful. He's allowed 9 homers in 60 innings but I agree with Jerry Manuel that his big problem last night was the leadoff walk. He had to have known that with a 4-run deficit the first batter would be taking a strike. Yet he didn't throw a fastball and got himself in a hole.



I know there were other things affecting him, the dropped popup, the missed double play (though Wright was right to take his time) but he gave up the walk, and the home run, and it falls on him.



But thanks to two other players, the Mets won this game. Mike Pelfrey bounced back from a rough outing with another good performance. He did give up a lot of hits, but always managed to avoid major trouble. That's the key to his growth as a pitcher, being able to work out of jams instead of imploding during them.



And of course there's Fernando Tatis. What amazes me is people still want to get another corner outfielder. How could we get someone better than him? The guy has been absolutely incredible, shows almost no signs of slowing down and almost every home run he hits comes in a key spot.



He has 9 homers this season, let's look at the situations:
5/23 vs. Colorado: 6th inning, Mets leading 3-2, solo homer to make it 4-2, but Mets later lost.
7/6 vs. Philadelphia: 12th inning, tied 2-2, 2-run homer gives Mets 4-2 win in the game Billy Wagner blew.
7/8 vs. San Francisco: 8th inning, Mets leading 6-0, solo homer made it 7-0.
7/10 vs. San Francisco: 7th inning, tied 3-3, 2-run homer gives Mets 5-3 lead, they win 7-3.
7/17 vs. Cincinnati: 6th inning, Mets losing 5-4, 2-run homer gives Mets 6-5 lead, they win 10-8 but not before blowing lead and reclaiming it.
7/26 vs. St. Louis: 9th inning, Mets losing 8-7, solo homer tied the game and sent it to extra innings, where the Mets lost.
7/27 vs. St. Louis: 6th inning, Mets winning 3-0, 2-run homer gave Mets 5-0 lead in game they'd win 9-1.
8/5 vs. San Diego: 4th inning, Mets losing 1-0, solo homer ties game.
8/5 vs. San Diego: 6th inning, Mets losing 2-1, 3-run homer gives Mets 4-2 lead in game they'd win 6-5.

Only one of his homers came before the 6th inning. 4 of his homers gave the Mets the lead, 2 tied games, and 2 were in games they were winning. 2 of them were absolutely huge in addition to some other huge hits he's had. Of all the problems this team has, Fernando Tatis is last on the list. I love Fernando-mania.

Unhappy Recap: Marlins 7 Mets 5

So Mike Pelfrey finally had a bad game. I'm hoping it's just an anomaly but I'm a little worried because he had several chances with 2 outs to get out of the inning and couldn't extricate himself from the situation. That was a problem that plauged him earlier in the year and hopefully it won't start again.

I'm angrier at Joe Smith for allowing that home run to Dan Uggla. I think the Mets have actually lost more games because the bullpen blew close games wide open, then they did because the bullpen blew leads.

Damion Easley sure hits a lot of big home runs, doesn't he?

Happy Recap: Mets 7 Cardinals 2

This team is back on a roll, great starting pitching, timely hitting and it just seems like they're going to win every night.

Let's start with the great Mike Pelfrey. He's won his last 7 decisions. The Mets won the last 9 games he started. His ERA is 2.12 in the 7 starts he's made since Dan Warthen became the pitching coach. I just can't express how impressed I am with the sudden turnaround he's made this season. And the fact that it coincides with a similar drastic improvement made by Perez, it seems Warthen is definitely having an impact on those two.

Another monster home run by Carlos Delgado. I'm not quite sure how he's doing it but he's definitely changed his approach. Not sure if it's confidence, or laying off the inside pitch, or the slider away but he's doing something different and he's awesome.

Another huge hit with a couple RBI for Jose Reyes.

Argenis Reyes hits his first major league home run, and everyone in the dugout gives him the cold shoulder. Awesome. I love this kid by the way, and wish Luis Castillo would never come back.

What is wrong with Duaner Sanchez. At least this time Manuel yanked him and Feliciano and Heilman cleaned it up for him before it became another blown lead.

Happy Recap: Mets 7 Reds 5

A crucial win in a game the Mets absolutely had to have. They couldn't afford to go into a crucial series with the Phillies off a 3-game losing streak. And it looked like that's what would happen as Mike Pelfrey struggled and blew leads.

Pelfrey has been so awesome that he deserves a pass for one bad game but I was shocked and dismayed that he allowed 3 homers in this game, after allowing only 4 through the first half of the season.

Jose Reyes was great in this game reaching base 4 times and scoring 3 runs.

Also awesome was Carlos Delgado who has been on fire lately, and has even been hitting in clutch situations.

The Mets did get a huge break though when Edwin Encarnacion's throwing error brought home the winning run in the 10th.

But none of it would have mattered without Robinson Cancel whose double was the key hit to start the winning rally.



Another home run for Ramon Castro. In his last 28 at bats (starting July 1), Castro has 10 hits, 2 homers and 8 RBI. In his last 28 at bats (starting July 6), Schneider has 4 hits 0 homers and 3 RBI. I know everyone thinks Castro will slow down, or get hurt, but he needs to play more. He can't possibly be worse than Schneider.

Great relief pitching in this one as Sanchez pitched two hitless innings and Wagner struck out the side in the 10th for the save.

Happy Recap: Mets 7 Rockies 0

Mike Pelfrey is now 6-0 with a 2.26 ERA over his last 9 starts. That's an incredible run for a guy who some people had been writing off at the beginning of this season. And if you remember, he pitched the last game of the Willie Randolph Rick Peterson era, pitching poorly but getting the win. In 5 starts since then he is 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA. Even though it seemed he was pitching better before that point, I have to think Dan Warthen has at least a little something to do with that.

The Mets have allowed only 4 runs over the past 6 games, and the 7 hits let up in this game was actually a disappointment.

And the offense once again contributing their fair share as well as an early 3-run homer by Beltran pretty much sealed the deal.

Carlos Delgado also contributed another home run, his 17th, to tie Wright for the team lead.

Hopefully the Mets can continue this in the second half.

Happy Recap: Mets 7 Giants 0

What a game by Mike Pelfrey. I'm so impressed with him lately but I want to point out what impressed me much. So much went wrong for him in the first inning (Easley's error, bad no-call by the umpire when Lewis ran out of the baseline on what should have been called a doubleplay, hitting Molina with an 0-2 pitch) but he didn't get rattled. He kept throwing his pitches and got out of the inning with no runs.

His ERA is now below 4, his record is above .500 and I'm sure his confidence is at an all-time high.

In his last 8 starts (a significant stretch amounting to about a quarter of the season), he is 5-0 with a 2.62 ERA.

He's getting more groundball outs, more strikeouts, fewer walks, everything about Pelfrey has been wonderful.



He has given up only one home run in his last 12 starts (78 1/3 innings), and only 4 all season.

And the offense is pounding the ball as well racking up another huge night with 14 more hits.

Carlos Beltran hit an early 3-run homer which I think was huge because when the Mets were struggling it seemed if they got down early they felt like they would lose. Now if they get an early lead, they feel like they are going to keep adding on, and hold on to it (as evidenced by the 10-9 win, they did hold on). That attitude reminds me of the 2006 team.



There have been false starts for this team before but this is now the longest winning streak since April, and there are many underlying reasons to be encouraged.

Other offensive stars in this game included Jose Reyes (now batting above .300), Damion Easley (continues his hitting streak in lieu of Castillo), Carlos Delgado (16 homers, on pace for 30) and Fernando Tatis (his third homer).



Weird statistical note: The first 7 players in the Giants lineup (excluding Omar Vizquel) are all batting between .279 and .299. Pretty decent batting averages for a team that is 14th in the league in runs scored. Their team batting average is actually 6th in the NL but they are 13th in OPS because they have only 57 homers, last in the league. Three teams have more than twice that many.

Happy Recap: Mets 11 Cardinals 1

This is the kind of game that's a fan's delight.

The Mets got some breaks early and took advantage of them and starting pounding the ball.

The first inning was a mess. The Mets got three runs on 2 walks, 2 infield hits and an error.

The third started with a little more luck but ended with a single by Pelfrey, a bases loaded triple by Reyes and a double by Chavez.

Then Delgado crushed a meaningless homer (his specialty).

But you can't ignore how great Mike Pelfrey has been. The Mets won the last 5 times he started, and 6 out of his last 7. And the 7th was one of those 2-1 games against the Padres, and he allowed only a run in 6 innings.

The only problem with this game is that David Wright may have gotten hurt.

Happy Recap: Mets 15 Yankees 6

Wow, what an offensive explosion.

Obviously the big story here is Carlos Delgado setting a Mets record with 9 RBI in one game. The first 2 came on a double which was key because it broke a 4-4 tie. The rest were just gravy. Tasty gravy, but just gravy.

The other player I malign frequently in this space also had a huge game. 5 runs scored for Luis Castillo.

I was a little disappointed with Pelfrey because he blew a 1-0 lead and then a 3-1 lead. And I wish he could have gone more than 5 innings in a game they led by so much, especially because it was the first game of a double header.

But there was little not to like about this game as the Mets pounded the Yankees into oblivion and completed the sweep of the series at Yankee Stadium.

Happy Recap: Mets 3 Rockies 1

I think we are witnessing the maturation of Mike Pelfrey. Over his last 5 starts he has a 2.76 ERA. He is made 14 starts this year, he's allowed 2 runs or fewer in 8 of them. That's a very strong ratio. Of the 7 starts when his ERA for that start is 3.00 or lower he is only 3-1 taking one very tough luck loss and 3 tough no decisions.

The bullpen pitched great on this road trip, allowing only 2 earned runs in 18 1/3innings. And those two runs came in the last 2 games and didn't really affect the outcome. Now the bullpen sunk Willie Randolph by blowing four games in a row. Is this recent stretch just the natural reversal of fortune, poorly timed (for Willie Randolph) or is it indicative of some kind of change in philosophy or attitude by Jerry Manuel that is helping them perform better? I hope Manuel's presence is the impetus for the improvement but I think it may only be temporary.

Jose Reyes led off the game with a triple for the second day in a row, that's always fun.

Carlos Beltran blasted a 2-run homer (he is really starting to come around).

And that was all the Mets need to cap a very successful, if tumultuous road trip.

Happy Recap: Mets 9 Angels 6

The last game of the Willie Randolph era.

And as it turns out, he actually managed the bullpen properly, but almost got burned anyway.

He let Pelfrey go as long as he could, then left him in for one more batter. Too bad he couldn't get an out, forcing Willie to go to Feliciano, who of course promptly allowed the inherited runners to score and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate.

Fortunately Aaron Heilman, yes, Aaron Heilman, saved the day with two strikeouts. The strikeout of Guerrero was very impressive,

Withe the up and down nature of the bullpen lately I would have stuck with Heilman in the 8th but thankfully Duaner Sanchez had his good stuff.

I think Wagner might have gotten a little lucky to get out of the inning that way, he was really starting to struggle.

Carlos Beltran is starting to get hot. He's hitting homers and driving in runs. If he can keep that up I think that will help get Wright off the schneid.

Jose Reyes contributed two runs by himself, or what Howie Rose calls Reyes runs.

The first was walk (he's on pace for 70 which is pretty good), move up on groundout, steal third and score on throwing error.

The second Reyes run was a thing of beauty. He singled and took a wide turn to draw the throw behind him. When the throw came Reyes took off for second. Then Randolph had Castillo sacrifice (a smart time to use the sacrifice) and Wright drove him home for an important insurance run.

It's small things like that which make Reyes so much fun to watch.

Although Pelfrey didn't pitch great, I'm glad he got the win. He deserved it after pitching to tough luck in several recent outings. I think it was his first major league win ever on regular rest.