They didn’t know that when they signed him? -Dan Warthen
I love this reaction to Brian Cashman blaming the Mets for Pedro Felciano’s current injury. There is nothing like some Yankee whining to take my mind off of a loss.
To be fair, Cashman was probably just answering a question posed to him by the media.
It was no secret that Jerry Manuel loved to trot out Pedro Feliciano any chance he could. I’m pretty sure he pitched every inning at the annual father son whiffle ball game last year.
In the seventh inning of last night’s game, the Marlins’ Chris Coghlan broke up a double play as he came in hard at second base.
Pedro Feliciano’s throw forced Jose Reyes to come across the bag early putting him in harm’s way.
I have no issue with breaking up the double play. That’s good baseball.
However, I do take exception to Coghlan coming in spikes up. SNY did a fantastic job of showing the Bush League slide on the replay.
Reyes appeared to be shaken up on the play but stayed in the game and appears to be fine.
It seems as though Coghlan has a history of injuring player’s on this particular play. Last season, Coghlan was responsible for tearing Tampa Bay Rays’ second baseman, Akinori Iwamura, ACL.
I’m not advocating an attempt to injure Coghlan.
A little sweet chin music to let him know the Mets are paying attention would be appropriate.
No contact, just a pitch that makes Mr. Coghlan have to dust off his seat….
Whew….
It’s funny how long losing streaks feel compared to winning streaks.
Thanks to Mike Pelfrey, the Mets obtained a well needed victory over the Braves.
Big Pelf went deep into this game pitching 7.2 innings for the win.
I was forced to watch the Braves’ coverage of the game. I have to tell you, they bring a whole new meaning to the word excitement.
I do have to admit, they are a bit more interesting now that John Smoltz is in the booth.
They repeatedly talked about how Pelfrey was telegraphing some of his pitches. It didn’t seem to matter, but it will be interesting to see what happens the next time he pitches against the Braves.
Things got a little dicey in the eighth inning when Pedro Feliciano took over for Pelfrey.
The Braves had runners on the corners with two outs. Intelligently, Pedro pitched around Chipper Jones to load the bases. There were a couple of really close pitches in the at bat that didn’t go Feliciano’s way.
He then had to face Brian McCann. Fortunately, he was able to strike out McCann to end the chance. It was the biggest moment of the game.
Nicely done, Pedro.
There is not a whole lot to write here.
Rod Barajas was the hero once again as he continues to endear himself to the Mets’ faithful. He provided the biggest hit of the night with a two run double in the second inning.
Jose Reyes was able to manufacture a much-needed run in the sixth inning. He singled up the middle and was then bunted over by Luis Castillo. Jose stole third with a tremendous jump from second. He was then able to score on a weak ground ball by Chris Carter.
Speaking of Chris Carter. Jerry Manuel replaced the Animal in the seventh inning with Jeff Francoeur.
Jerry wasn’t completely out of his mind, as he wanted to improve the defense late in the game. I get that.
If this is going to be your plan, then take Carter out of the four hole.
David Wright now has a 14 game strike out streak. At first, I thought he was going to break the streak. However, he was completely over matched by Takashi Saito in his last at bat.
In D Wright’s defense, Saito’s fastball looked un-hittable. Just ask Ike Davis and Rod Barajas. They were also blown away by Saito that inning.
The Mets have their ace on the mound with a chance to sweep the series.
Can I even say sweep the series when it is only a two game set?
Johan Santana will face Kris Medlen.
Why do I get the feeling this is going to be an up and down year? With this loss to the Reds, the Mets find themselves on a three game losing streak.
It took eleven innings for the game to be decided on a Lance Nix home run off of Manny Acosta.
PITCHING:
Oliver Perez pitched well for the Mets allowing two runs in six innings. His fastball was reaching the low nineties consistently and it looked like it had some bite to it.
Hopefully this is a sign that Ollie is feeling good and is going to get on a roll.
Of course, we couldn’t have a game without the obligatory Met walk of a pitcher. This occurred in the fifth inning as Ollie walked Mike Leake with one out. He would eventually wind up scoring.
The bullpen was able to produce four shutout innings prior to the Nix home run thanks to Jenrry Mejia, Fernando Nieve, and Pedro Felciano. Nieve looked particularly impressive in his two innings of relief.
THE LUMBER:
The most positive sign was Jose Reyes‘ effort at the plate. He went 2 for 5 with an RBI, and hit the ball well all night.
Luis Castillo and David Wright were able to produce two hits a piece as well.
Jeff Francoeur was responsible for the other Met run with an RBI single in the sixth inning.
OUTLOOK:
The Mets faced the Reds’ best pitcher so far in this season in Mike Leake. He was impressive as he kept the ball down all night and didn’t make any huge mistakes.
The Mets have the chance to play .500 baseball on this road trip with wins in the next two games against the Reds. They will need the bats to warm up and the pitching to repeat its performance from the first game of the series.
After three losses in a row, the Mets still find themselves only a half of game out of first place thanks to the Cardinals win over the Phillies.
John Maine will take the mound to face Bronson Arroyo Tuesday night.
More on Monday’s Game:
Check out what my blog brothers are saying about the first game of the series against the Reds:
Mets pitching continues to impress as they secured their second straight series win today. Jonathon Niese was only able to go 5.1 innings before handing it over to the bullpen.
It was Manny Acosta’s turn to pick up the win against his old mates. He looked impressive today striking out three in 1.2 innings.
Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano were then able to bridge the gap to get to Francisco Rodriguez. Rodriguez enjoyed a much smoother outing today as he picked up his third straight save.
The Lumber
Another slow start for the sticks today. They didn’t exactly heat up, as they scratched out only five hits. They were able to pick up some big hits when needed, however.
Jason Bay lead the way with three hits including a game tying double with two outs.
Jeff Francoeur drove in the go ahead run with a 415 foot double of his own.
Slump Watch
Just when I thought David Wright might be starting to climb out of his slump, he comes up with an 0 for 4 performance today. His average stands at a paltry .230.
Today’s plate appearance included a strike out, pop up to the catcher, and 4-6-3 double play. I am not completely discouraged. He didn’t appear to be over matched. He just wasn’t affective. It happens in this game.
Braves Blunders
The Braves continue to play uninspired baseball. Today’s Keystone Cops moment occurred when Yunel Escobar either thought there were two outs or thought that Troy Glaus’ fly ball to Jeff Francoeur was a sure hit.
In any case, Escobar nonchalantly jogged back to third after the ball was caught. Martin Prado was then caught in a run down between third and second because he assumed (rightly so) that Escobar would tag to score. Not your average, every day, double play.
Outlook
It hasn’t been pretty from an offensive perspective, but the Mets are accomplishing what needs to be done. They are now a .500 ball club heading into tomorrow’s chance to sweep the Braves.
At some point the inability to get passed the fifth or sixth inning by Mets’ starters will gas this bullpen and then things could get real ugly. Gary Cohen pointed out in today’s telecast that the Mets’ bullpen leads the majors in innings pitched.
Midwestropolitan 