Mets Clinging to 1 1/2 Game WC Edge After Latest Atlanta Bullpen Debacle

September 22, 2008 by Mark Reichman
Filed under Major League Baseball, Mets

Friday was a good night for the Amazins. Saturday and Sunday however saw more troubles and tests of intestinal fortitude, the likes of which Mets fans have have grown accustomed to this year. Mix in a couple of Phillie wins and you have a Mets team that momentarily reclaimed first place in the NL East only to see their lead de-materialize and turn back into that familiar 1 1/2 game deficit. 1 1/2 games is also the edge the Mets currently enjoy in the Wild Card race, as they broke even with the Brewers over the weekend.

The Mets finish 2008 with a putrid 1-8 record in Atlanta. Friday was the type of Met victory which they apparently must have in order to survive this year, as the Amazin offense rescued the game after the bullpen blew a late lead. The bottom of the seventh saw a short appearance from “long man” Nelson Figueroa, who was brought in and asked to hold on to a fragile one run lead. Before he could record a single out, that lead was gone. Granted, the Mets were victimized by a throwing error from Jose Reyes and a bumbling through-the-legs error from a brain frozen and non-focusing Ryan Church. The Mets defense has been great in the second half (they have the fewest second half errors in MLB actually) but the incredibly poor timing of these mistakes definitely felt like a continuation of the “collapse theme”. Three pitchers later, after an intentional walk and a fingernail-reducing (but oddly effective) appearance from Aaron Heilman, the Mets emerged with the game tied 5-5.

A great pinch hit double from super-rookie Daniel Murphy, followed by RBI singles from Reyes and Wright got the Mets the 9-5 edge they ended up holding on to. And the scoreboard was most kind to the Mets Friday, with the Brewers and Phillies losing.

But Saturday the NL East lead was gone as questions persist as to what contribution, if any, can be expected from the largely ineffective Pedro Martinez. Pedro was responsible for all six runs scored, four by the Braves and the only two for the Mets from his surprising 2-out, 2-RBI double. And then Sunday it was back to the familiar theme of ”bullpen meltdown.” Scott Schoeneweis was the culprit this time out. No sooner did the SNY team anoint him as the most effective arm in the pen, then there was Schoeneweis blowing the lead as if on cue. I guess the “most effective” of a hopelessly ineffective group is still relatively ineffective.

Schoeneweis has an opponent average of .173 against lefties, but a whopping .333 against righthanded hitters. I’m very displeased with Jerry Manuel’s decision to leave Schoeneweis in to face the righthanded Omar Infante. Especially when he has demonstrated a comfort level using up to four pitchers in an inning and going by the book with the lefty/righty matchups all the way through. I guess Manuel thought Schoeneweis could “just toughen up” and find a way to get Infante out, but he got way too much of the plate on the pitch where Infante hit a huge double. After that, it did make sense to leave Schoeneweis in to face the lefty Casey Kotchman. But that’s where luck got involved. Kotchman’s excuse-me check swing resulted in an RBI bloop single. I guess when there is zero margin for error the occasional lucky hit like that will really sting ya. I’ll definitely remember that moment as one of the nails in the coffin if the Mets don’t make the playoffs.

That eighth inning yesterday dragged on like the Greek tragedy of the Mets season, a Francouer RBI triple off Joe Smith and a 2 RBI double from Martin Prado off Heilman, who was a strike away from getting out of the inning, ended up giving the Braves a 7-4 edge. Which was all the more depressing because the 2-run Delgado bomb in the top of the ninth could only get the Mets to within a run before they went down quietly on Beltran and Easley’s strikeouts. Ahh, a day late and a dollar short once again.

How many mentally crushing losses can the Mets suffer and still be able to pick themselves up off the mat? I guess we’ll see. After two recent demoralizing losses to the Nats, the Mets were able to bounce back with first inning runs in the next three straight games (keyed by two leadoff home runs from Reyes and good hitting from Beltran and Delgado after him). The bottom line in my analysis of the Mets is that I really have no idea what to expect next. They’ve shown an amazing ability to bounce back from crushing losses this year. They’ve also shown a tendency to allow the negativity snowball. Which trend will be the trump card back in Shea against the Cubs tonight is anyone’s guess, or at any rate beyond my ability to predict.

Finally, I got a few laughs from SNY’s Gary Cohen’s humorous disparagement of the Atlanta fans. The crowd expressed displeasure when no out was recorded on a popup that clearly grazed the net behind home plate before landing in catcher Brian McCann’s glove. Cohen promptly took the ATL fans to task for not being knowledgeable and not understanding the rules of the game. He even mixed up sports to throw in a great anecdote from the days when the NHL’s Atlanta Flames were in town. According to Cohen the ATL puck fans used to “cheer icing.” It was pure sour grapes, but after the indignities the Met fans have suffered this year, I must admit it felt pretty good!

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