Unhappy Recap: Twins 6 Mets 2

Same shit different day. Mets get a lead, starter blows it, bullpen makes it a blowout.

I thought things might be different after the first innings. With men on first and second and one out Perez didn't cover first base on a potential 3-6-1 double play. But he got Hunter so that mistake didn't come back to haunt him. Then the Mets got him a run as LoDuca doubled and Beltran singled.

Minnesota tied the game on a walk and a triple, because Shawn Green is slow as shit getting to the corner.

But the Mets bounced right back to take the lead on singles by Reyes, Beltran and Wright.

Perez had an interesting night, he walked 5 men - one each in the first five innings, but he was mostly ahead of the hitters, but for some reason he couldn't strike guys out. And that was his undoing in the fifth. He walked Mauer to lead off the inning but got the next two guys and had a 1-2 count on Torii Hunter, but Hunter hit a home run to left just over the glove of leaping Ricky Ledee.

The game was over in the sixth when Ricky Ledee slowed up on a deep flyball he might have been able to catch, turning it into a double. Then Joe Smith (who has been exposed) gave up a hit and a walk and Schoeneweis came in to blow the game wide open.

Of course the Mets didn't score another run.

Mets have lost 6 straight series. They've lost 13 of 16 and 14 of 18 in June.

"Mama said there'd be days like this. Or weeks." - Willie Randolph

I hope he doesn't have to turn that into months.

Unhappy Recap: Twins 9 Mets 0

For some reason this loss pissed me off more than the others this month that have followed the similar script; starter gets bombed, hitters don't hit and bullpen makes it worse.

But this one pissed me off even more and I did two things I haven't done this season. First I yelled at the TV, loudly. It may be hard to believe but up until now I've been so confident in this time that I haven't allowed their poor play to aggravate me. Second, I turned this game off early. I haven't watched every inning of every game, but this was the first game this year that I remember planning to watch then giving up and watching something else.

And I think what got me so annoyed was the perceived lack of effort by Carlos Beltran on the play that turned the game around. After Torii Hunter singled to start the second, Jeff Cirillo hit a broken bat single to shallow centerfield. Beltran took for granted that Hunter would stop and second and did not charge the ball. Then when Hunter headed for third, Beltran scooped the ball and rushed his throw. It landed in the seats. Hunter scored, Cirillo went to third. The next batter blooped a single over the drawn in infield. Then Sosa blew up, allowing another single, and a walk to the pitcher before the floodgates really opened for 3 more runs.

That made it 5-0, and on this night 1 was too many for the Mets. They had no chance against Santana, even if they hadn't made four errors.

Another horrible performance by a team that doesn't look like it's going to break out of this slump anytime soon. It's only a matter of time before the Phillies and Braves catch them and the Mets will find themselves in third place, fighting the rest of the season to climb out of the hole they are digging for themselves right now.

Happy Recap: Mets 8 Twins 1

This game is just what the Mets needed to break their slump. Good pitching and timely hitting.

John Maine was really awesome. He was actually better than his 1 run in 7 1/3 innings would indicate. He really was never in trouble the whole game, scattering a few hits and a few walks. He did throw a lot of pitches though, 115, which is why Willie yanked him in the 8th. But I like the fact that Willie has been giving Maine and Perez especially the chance to go deep into games.



I also like the fact that Willie put LoDuca back in the number 2 hole. I know he wanted him in a run producing spot due to the injuries, but the lineup was working better with LoDuca behind Reyes. LoDuca drove in two in the bottom of the sixth that were key in changing the game from 2-0 to 4-0, a huge difference.

Delgado woke up a little bit with two hits including a homer in the first inning, but I hesitate to say he has really broken out of it because we've seen this before. But it was still nice to see him homer.

Ricky Ledee had a big game with a home run and an RBI single. I think Willie may start employing a straight platoon of Ledee and Gomez in left field until Alou comes back. But he does like to have Ledee's left handed bat on the bench for late in games. Ledee's single was even more important than his homer because it came when the score was 1-0 after Delgado had been thrown out at the plate on a force play. The Mets had not been driving in runners with two outs, so that was a big base hit.

I have been very critical of Delgado's poor play in the field and on the base paths but in this case I can't blame him for not scoring on Green's double or on Valentin's groundout.

The Mets broke it open in the 8th the old fashioned way, Reyes singled, Beltran doubled, Wright doubled, then after an intentional walk to Delgado, Gomez hit a sac fly.

Sosa and Perez have to keep this going.