Aside from Billy Wagner, who picked up his 23rd save with a perfect ninth, the Mets' pitching was bad all around last night in Cincinnati. Johan Santana's velocity was alarmingly low, and he was battered around, pitching through bases loaded trouble in the second inning before giving up five runs in the fourth, his final inning of the night. Aaron Heilman lost his command after getting two outs in the seventh, and Scott Schoenweis allowed the big blow, a bases clearing double by Javier Valentin. But the offense continued to roll, as Carlos Delgado, Fernando Tatis and David Wright each hit two-run homers, and the Mets pounded out 10 runs, including four in the ninth off closer Francisco Cordero. Wright's bomb tied the game with one out, and Delgado followed three batters later with the go-ahead RBI single. The victory moves the Mets into a first place tie with the Phillies at 52-44.
Who would have thought that at this point in the season Carlos Delgado would be leading the team in home runs? That proposition looked even less likely in mid-June when it seemed like every swing Delgado took resulted in a weak grounder to the second baseman playing in shallow right field. In 19 games since June 27, he is batting .352 with six home runs and 20 RBI. But most importantly Delgado has been hitting the ball to the opposite field with authority, lining outside pitches to left center instead of yanking them to the right side. As a result he has his batting average up to .254, and his production has been a long-awaited addition to the Mets' injury-ridden lineup. Who knows if this will continue? Delgado is 36 years old so it's equally possible that this recent hot streak will soon fade into oblivion, where El Duque apparently resides (remember him?).
Jerry Manuel made a questionable move last night when he chose to have Aaron Heilman intentionally walk Joey Votto after Edwin Encarnacion's two-out double in the seventh. Putting the potential go-ahead run on base intentionally is clearly a move that goes against the book, and it is often difficult for a reliever to find his rhythm again after issuing an intentional pass. Case in point: Heilman walked the next batter on five pitches to load the bases. Then, also questionable was Manuel's decision to pull Heilman in favor of Schoenweis. I rarely think it's a good idea to bring a pitcher in with the bases loaded, but it made sense because Javier Valentin, the would-be pinch hitter, is not as productive from the right side of the plate. The moves ended up not working out, as Valentin delivered the three-run double, but they didn't get much scrutiny because the Mets won the game. These are the types of situations that get managers fired; if this type of move didn't work out for Willie Randolph and the team ended up losing the game, he would have been one step closer to the unemployment line, whereas if it worked out for Jerry Manuel, he would be venerated as the next John McGraw.
Around The League
The Phillies bolstered their starting rotation yesterday by trading for Joe Blanton. This is the third starting pitcher the Athletics have dealt this season, including Rich Harden and Dan Haren, who was traded to Arizona in the winter. Blanton is only 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA this season, but there could be a method to GM Pat Gillick's madness. Blanton is marginally better in the second half over the course of his career, and in two career starts against the Mets he is 1-0 and has not allowed a run in 15 innings. The Mets will get to see him right away, as he is slated to pitch on Tuesday at Shea. To make room in the rotation, Philly moved Adam Eaton, who was a career Met-killer until New York roughed him up last time they faced him, to the bullpen.
Two of the three prospects the A's received in return for Blanton are projected to be pretty good major league players. Second baseman Adrian Cardenas was hitting .309 for single-A Clearwater, and was a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts at the time of the trade. Reliever Josh Outman had an ERA of 3.20 in double-A, and is a career 19-12 in the minor leagues. Although all three prospects are still young and far from making an impact at the major league level, it seems that Billy Beane has made yet another move that will help his organization stay competitive in the future.
The Yankees return to action tonight at The Stadium against those Oakland Athletics, and Mike Mussina will take the mound in search of his 12th win of the season. His ability to reinvent himself at 39 years of age has been remarkable and the Yanks will need him to continue his stellar season if they are going to catch the Red Sox (and Rays). They are currently in third place, six games behind Boston.
Boston opens a three-game series in Anaheim tonight against the first-place Angels. This should be a hard-fought series among two division leaders. Rookie Clay Buchholz will face ace John Lackey tonight.
*Statistical information derived from www.baseballreference.com
Keywords: Aaron Heilman, Adam Eaton, Adrian Cardenas, Billy Beane, Billy Wagner, Boston Red Sox, Carlos Delgado, Cincinnati Reds, Clay Buchholz, Dan Haren, David Wright, Edwin Encarnacion, Fernando Tatis, Francisco Cordero, Javier Valentin, Jerry Manuel, Joe Blanton, Joey Votto, Johan Santana, John Lackey, Josh Outman, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Mike Mussina, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Orlando Hernandez, Pat Gillick, Philadelphia Phillies, Rich Harden, Scott Schoenweis, Tampa Bay Rays, Willie Randolph
