I heard a lot of static after last night’s game that the Mets were too impatient at the plate and didn’t try to work the count against Johan Santana, who threw 92 pitches and only struck out one.
The Mets ripped a few, but right at somebody. That stuff happens. The key was Minnesota getting a 5-0 lead in the second. Santana didn’t have to be cute and went right after the Mets.
Shawn Green told me Santana wasn’t grooving anything, but was consistently in the strike zone. If they took on Santana they were in immediate 0-1 and 1-2 holes.
They had no chance. None.
8 Comments
They would have had a better chance if willie took Sosa out earlier. i think once it was at 6-0 they got forelorn.and 9-0 they just wanted the game over. which is defeatest. but what can ya do. good days and bad days. sigh
its gonna be a rocky rocky road..
Time to release Aaron Sele, and call up Ryan Cullen
Totally agree John. I liked their approach last night. The Mets hit the ball hard and got unlucky at times, but taking pitches was not the answer. They were getting pitches to hit left and right, would we have been happier if they took those pitches and then K’ed later in the count? Of course not! Sometimes doing the right thing and hitting the ball hard doesn’t win a game.
And I don’t fault Willie for leaving Sosa out there. It took about 2 minutes for him to spot them 5 runs that inning and at that point, you just hope he can soak up a few innings. The difference between 5-0 and 6-0 v. Santana is nothing. The defense and Sosa collapsed in an instant and the game was over.
To SNK (RE: quick ending)
They had no chance after the second. Actually, I was surprised when Willie took out Sosa. I thought he leave him in there for a couple of reasons, 1) to preserve the bullpen, and 2) maybe he could have worked out his mechanical problems.
I find it interesting that as a group we want to bury Glavine after two bad games but give Sosa a pass doing the same thing.
Why is that?
Dave
Dave that is interesting. Just my opinion but I think that everyone is hoping that Sosa is developing into something special, and has a chance for one of those awesome, surprise years. It is exciting that this guy we picked up (not unlike picking up Lima) is actually panning out.
Glavine, on the other hand is a known commodity. When he sucks we expect more from him. Our expectations aren’t that high on Sosa.
To Dave (RE: Glavine/Sosa)
I think JR hit the nail on the head. Also, Glavine is 40-plus and anytime a player gets to that age there’s no more slack. They are no longer slumps, but that the player is over the hill. Not fair.
Well the other issue is that where Sosa is our #5 starter, Glavine is supposed to be our fill-in ace for Pedro. I think before Sosa replaced Pelfrey, we would have been ok with a .500 record and 4.50 ERA from him. A #5 doesn’t need to be better than that. But Glavine is no #5, so the expectations are much higher. That and the age factor.