I feel bad for not having written anything on Wednesday. I missed a chance to talk about how well the Mets were playing - that's in the past now. Perhaps it was Gary Cohen who jinxed it, when after Wednesday's win he told Matt Yallof on Mets' Post Game Live about how badly the Mets were going to beat up on San Diego this weekend.
You couldn't blame Gary, really. The Mets went into San Diego having won 7 of 9. The Padres entered Thursday night's game with a 24-37 record, and the distinction of being the worst hitting team in the National League. The latter held up over most of the weekend, as the Pads scored just two runs in each of the first three games this weekend. Unfortunately, two is more than one, so by this afternoon's game the former stat had improved by a factor of three.
Fast forward to the eighth inning of today's game, with Duaner Sanchez on the mound, the Mets up 6-4, and two Padres on base. Sanchez powers a 93 mile-an-hour fastball by Scott Hairston for the second out. He bears down well, and seems poised to get out of the inning with Jody Gerut coming up next. The catch? Gerut's a lefty, and Sanchez is a righty, so the first law of over-managing states that Billy Wagner, the lefty, is forced to come in to face Gerut and try to nail down a four out save.
There are libraries of conventional wisdom to vindicate Willie Randolph's decision here. Your closer's ready; bring him in to set up the lefty vs. lefty match-up and end the threat in the 8th.
But it's interesting to note that while Randolph did the conventional thing, Pads skipper Bud Black saw something in Gerut, opted not to pinch-hit, and Gerut came through with an RBI single. 6-5. Tony Clark follows with a three-run homer, to give the Padres an 8-6 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Oh, snap. Sunny San Diego wasn't so sunny this weekend for the Metsies.
I didn't like taking Sanchez out there for the mere reason that he just looked like he was getting out of that inning. And he looked pretty disappointed walking off the mound when he got the hook the moment he struck out Hairston, as if he too was wondering why people act like it's a felony to have a right-handed reliever pitch to a left-handed batter. And for christ's sake, it's not like Jody Gerut is Tony Gwynn.
Willie's known for going with his gut quite frequently, and it often backfires. The gutsy thing to do today would have been to leave Sanchez in to face the lefty, trusting in his capability after a big K to get one more out. Today, Willie went by the book, and it backfired.
But what's more interesting to me is that Willie ultimately chose to go with a barely-warm Wagner instead of a pumped up Sanchez. Especially knowing that Wagner has trouble coming in in the middle of an inning.
In the broadcast, Keith Hernandez said that Willie made the right move. Matt Cerrone agreed - twice - in his post-game remarks on metsblog, as if trying to preempt the all-but-certain anger of his site's readers.
And to be fair, we wouldn't be talking about any of this if the fastball Wagner zipped by Clark the pitch before the home run had been called a strike. It was a strike. The Mets should have been out of that inning. Instead, we're all left only to ponder.
The Mets need to figure it out, and soon. Sanchez should have stayed in. But I can't even fault Willie for anything else these last four games. The Mets aren't playing listlessly anymore; now they're just losing. I really am confused, because for nine beautiful games the Mets were fun to watch and looking solid again. Now, I'm left only to ponder.
30-32, 100 to play. 7 1/2 behind the first place Phillies...ugh. They'll turn it around, right? I mean, right? Time's running out on "it's still early."
I just want my team back, and I'm still waiting.
Pictures courtesy padres.com, mets.com
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