A day after the Mets' bullpen acted out a microcosm of the final 17 games of 2007, Billy Wagner was back on the mound with a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Wednesday, and Mets fans could not be happier. Wagner's save in the 6-3 victory not only sealed the win and moved the Mets back into a first place tie with the Phillies, but it also put the minds of many a Mets fan at ease, knowing that the true closer is once again available to pitch. After the game Wagner said he looked better than he felt, but hopefully he continues to feel well enough to pitch 1-2-3 ninth innings.
There is some controversy over whether the bullpen meltdown Tuesday night should have been avoided via Johan Santana pitching the ninth inning. Jerry Manuel said that had Santana been adamant about wanting to stay in the game, he would have left him in. I don't think it was a bad move to pull Santana after only 105 pitches because he did look like he was losing steam in the eighth, and his spot in the batting order came up in the bottom of the eighth. However, it would have been nice to see Santana fight for the opportunity to finish the game. Ultimately, Santana still pitched a phenomenal game and Manuel made a sound decision in turning the game over to Duaner Sanchez. The bottom line is that a quartet of major league pitchers (Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith and Aaron Heilman) absolutely need to be capable of recording three outs without allowing three runs, let alone six runs. I don't know what it is about the ninth inning, but some pitchers are just not cut out to pitch in those situations.
My biggest issue with Tuesday night's game was Endy Chavez getting thrown out twice at the plate with no outs. The first time was understandable to some extent, but the alternative of having men on second and third with no outs and Carlos Beltran at the plate immediately makes third base coach Luis Aguayo's decision a bad one. The second time was a horrendous decision considering that Chavez had to hesitate to make sure David Wright's line drive made it over Chase Utley's head, and that Jayson Werth was already in shallow right center when he fielded the ball. Granted, Aguayo is new at coaching third, but I certainly hope Jerry Manuel had a firm discussion with him after the game to ensure that he doesn't cost the Mets any more games.
Tonight was different story. The Mets played a crisp game all around other than one exception: John Maine's failure to lay down a bunt with runners on first and second and no outs in the sixth inning. But Jose Reyes made it a moot point with his go-ahead three-run homer, and that was the difference in the game.
Maine started strong with a 1-2-3 first inning, but then gave up back-to-back solo home runs in the second to nullify the 2-0 lead the offense had built. He settled down from there on and pitched his second longest game of the season, going seven strong innings. Maine still fell victim to deep counts, throwing at least six pitches to eight batters, but there were two factors that allowed him to keep his pitch count down and stay in the game through the seventh. First, despite his abundance of deep counts, he also retired eight hitters on two pitches or fewer. Second, he did an excellent job of throwing strike one; he threw a first-pitch strike to 16 of the 25 batters he faced. That 64 percent rate was an excellent improvement over the 48.5 percent mark he had averaged over his previous three outings.
Oliver Perez gets the start Thursday at 12:10 in the rubber game of the series. Perez is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three starts againt Philadelphia this season, so hopefully he can continue his solid performance against the divisional rivals and shuttle the Mets alone into first place. Jamie Moyer, who has been pitching since polo was still played at the Polo Grounds, will oppose Perez and the Mets.
Around The League
C.C. Sabathia tossed yet another complete game for the Brew Crew tonight to extend Milwaukee's lead over St. Louis to two games for second place in the NL Central. Sabathia has been fantastic since coming over from the Indians. He is now 4-0 as a Brewer with a 1.36 ERA and three complete games. Milwaukee's newest acquisition, Ray Durham, has only batted once since the trade, and it seems that Rickie Weeks is feeling the heat. The second baseman and lead-off hitter is 6-15 with five runs scored, a home run and five RBI in four games since the trade. If Weeks keeps up his production at the top of the order, Durham will still add more depth and a veteran presence to a Brewers team that seems to be going for it all this year. Ben Sheets will pitch tomorrow in the finale against the Cardinals, as the Brewers look to sweep the four-game series.
The Yankees swept the Twins and have won six straight to tighten the race in the AL East. The Red Sox and Rays have also been winning, but now the three teams are separated by just 3.5 games, with Tampa Bay still at the top.
The Angels, who boast the best record in the majors, are now 10 games ahead of the Athletics in the AL West. They had been starved for offense for most of the year, but today they outscored Cleveland 14-11 to run their record to 62-39.
The Milwaukee Brewers signed Jay Gibbons to a minor league contract on Wednesday. Gibbons was suspended for receiving a shipment of HGH in 2005 and named in the Mitchell Report, and subsequently released by the Orioles. He then sent a letter to each of the 30 major league teams, admitting to and apologizing for his wrongdoing, and pledging to donate his entire minor league salary to charity if any team gave him a second chance. The Brewers chose to do so, and Gibbons will report to their Double-A team.
I'm not going to do a fantasy baseball tip of the week on Wednesdays anymore because I think winning fantasy sports managers should develop their strategies on their own. Instead, starting next Wednesday I'm going to write about a particular issue in baseball every week. Next week I'll be discussing the Hall of Fame. Keep tuning in...
*Statistical information derived from www.baseballreference.com and mlb.com gamelogs.
Keywords: Aaron Heilman, Baltimore Orioles, Ben Sheets, Billy Wagner, Boston Red Sox, C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Beltran, Chase Utley, Cleveland Indians, Duaner Sanchez, Endy Chavez, Jamie Moyer, Jay Gibbons, Jayson Werth, Jerry Manuel, Joe Smith, Johan Santana, John Maine, Jose Reyes, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Luis Aguayo, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oliver Perez, Pedro Feliciano, Philadelphia Phillies, Ray Durham, Rickie Weeks, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays
