Kevin here with a final update from Monday’s game with the Marlins:
 Chan Ho Park was a rollercoaster. He was good early, got a little wild, completely lost his composure and then lost the life on his fastball, leading to a pair of tape-measure home runs.
Odds are Chan Ho won’t get another start. At least, that was the sense in the locker room after the game. Sometimes reporters have a knee-jerk reaction to things like this. But I tend to agree.
It was a pretty awkward postgame. During the interviews, a reporter from Korea reminded Randolph that Jose Valentin was hurt and then asked “Would Valentin have caught that ball” in reference to the third-inning line drive that Damion Easley dropped, opening the door for the five runs.
Then with Park in the interview room, he was asked two questions he didn’t particularly appreciate: 1. Would you give yourself another chance to start after tonight’s performance?; and 2. Did you think you can still pitch in the big leagues?
Park was clearly bothered by the line of questioning. He actually said at one point “You might be laughing at me, but I’m trying my hardest.” Kind of felt bad for the guy.
 As I pointed out during the game, David Wright is struggling and the Shea Stadium crowd is getting restless. He got booed after a key strikeout in the seventh and was booed again after his ground out in the ninth.
Wright is 4 for his last 36 (.111). He’s swinging at terrible pitches and is visibly frustrated.
 Carlos Beltran is locked in right now. He went 4 for 5 tonight with a home run. Usually a slow starter, he finished the month hitting .356 with six homers, 23 HRs and 17 RBI.
Aside from the injury stuff, there was not much else going on at Shea tonight. I believe John will be returning to work this week. Enjoy.
10 Comments
well i guess Park’s ERA speaks for itself. :-(
almost had a rally. and poor loduca getting robbed of a homerun. well its one game. next..
I was at Shea last night and LoDuca’s ball looked clearly foul. Did you see a TV replay, Steve C., that showed otherwise?
As for Park, he made a big mess for himself by walking the next two batters after giving up the hit to Olsen, which he REALLY should’ve brushed off, considering there were already two outs.
Still, Easley MUST make the play on the liner hit to him and SOMEONE should’ve taken charge and caught Mike Jacobs’s bloop “double.”
Park could’ve escaped without allowing a run.
As for D-Wright, I haven’t seen a power outage like this since Fonzie back in ‘02. And then Fonzie was never the same and was gone from the bigs what, three, four years later?
Not saying this will be D-Wright’s fate, but it’s as if someone kidnapped him after NLDS Game 1 last year and replaced him with an impostor…or a clone.
I’ve got it!
Maybe David Wright is a Cylon.
Based on Park’s ERA down south and his outing last nite, I was there and sat thru it, the best bet for the Met organization is to release him to free up a spot on the 40 man. Maybe some pitching starved team will pick him up. His sole purpose was to compete for the 5th spot. Certainly not going to happen. There is enough decent pitching in N.O. to pick up the slack for him and Pelfry if it comes to that. Sele could be stretched out too.
Hope they are pragmatic here and give Park another start. I’m not a fan of his, long-term. He’s a placeholder and one with a major league resume of some merrit. And the Mets may need in upwards of 3 placeholder pitchers at some point this year. Park likely doesn’t accept another demotion, so, you might as well give him as much rope as you can to try to reclaim his effectiveness and career.
Park has a bit of a reputation as a hothead. And, judging by his post-game comments about one call completely disrupting his focus, speaks to that. Hopefully he can string a couple of decent starts together OR accepts the assignment to AAA.
BTW, great example of the utter ruthlessness of the media, some reporter asks him if he thinks he’s still a major league pitcher after his first start of the year. Not that it isn’t an insightful question when it can be reasonably determined he’s at a crossroads, but, one start back in the show is a bit premature if you ask me.
I don’t understand why the Mets need to try to resurrect Chan Ho’s career. If I’m gonna lose I’d rather do ith with guys who might have a future, Vargas, Sosa. I’d add Humber but he is too raw for NY, especially with the Shea faithful (not) in all out boo mode with every bad inning.
Park’s era’s the last 6 MLB seasons were 5.75 7.58 5.46 5.91 5.66 and 4.81 then add in his 7.5 AAA era and any logical person could see that he is a waste of time and space
Well, if he could replicate the 4.81 ERA, he’d likely win more than he’d lose on this team (if the offense ever comes around). The reason you’d try to resurrect Park’s career is that there was once a career to resurrect. Neither Sosa nor Vargas are guaranteed to produce the same numbers, and once you’ve shot those bullets, you’re scratching at more untested minor leaguers on a team that may actually need production if they want to make the playoffs this year.
Look, my hope was to peddle a resurrected Park at the deadline when you had a better sense of Pedro and his potential contributions this season. Pelfrey, Humber, and Vargas should get major league tested this season, but there will be ample opportunities to fill in as starters or relievers go down.
Well if you could replicate Sosa’s 13-3 record that would be even better. There was also once a career for Sosa. All of your logic is correct and the same logic that I am using . The difference is I believe you go with your by far better performer . I am not 100% sure we will make the playoffs and hate to waste a game when there is a better choice to make
(loduca) I saw it on tv as it happened. yes it was foul but barely.
I’ll give park one more start. if he explodes like tat again. he is no better than trashe-el. Pelfrey is a rookie he has an excuse. Park is supposed to be a veteran.
ohh?nice post but really?/? :P