Blue and Orange dot net

Yesterday, it was Tom Glavine getting his 292nd win that propelled the Mets to victory. Today, it was an even older Julio Frano who gave the boys in blue and orange the win over the Nats, 3-2.

Franco came up to pinch hit in the seventh inning with runners on first and second and the game tied and, despite looking somewhat slow at the plate, managed to find the hole up the middle. He hit a pitch from Ryan Wagner on the ground right back up the middle and David Wright came in to score what would be the winning run.

The night will probably be remembered for Mike Pelfrey’s less-than-perfect start, as he managed to go five and 2/3 innings but gave up six hits and four walks. That walk total could easily have been higher but he seemed to get the benefit of some very close calls.

I don’t have time to do a full recap but here are a few thoughts:

1. David Wright looked pretty good. Regular readers of this blog know that I’m not too high on Wright so far this season, but he hit the ball hard tonight and had some good at-bats. Hopefully, I’m very wrong about him.

2. This trend of walking hitters has got to stop. Maine, Perez, Glavine, and now Pelfrey have given up a combined total of 4,328 walks over the last few games (my numbers may be slightly off). To be a winning team, that number has got to come down.

3. John Patterson is considered the Nats staff ace. John Patterson. ‘Nuff said.

4. The team is being very aggressive on the bases, just like last season. Reyes, Wright, and Shawn Green(!) stole bases last night, so that was very good to see. The used that aggressiveness as a major weapon last season so if they continue the trend they’ll be dangerous this year again.

From the moment the game started and Jose Reyes hit a lead-off triple, we knew it was going to be a good night for the Mets offense. We didn’t know that it was going to turn into an old-fashioned shellacking though, as the Mets pummeled the Braves at Turner Field, 11-1.

Reyes’ triple was quickly followed by a sacrifice fly by Paul LoDuca and the Mets had a lead after four pitches. They would never look back. A Jose Valentine double would plate Moises Alou in the second inning, and Jeff Francoeur’s solo home run in the fourth would be the only offense mounted by the seemingly lifeless Braves. The Mets would add three in the sixth, and then blow the game open in the eighth, scoring six more runs (only two earned).

But the offense wasn’t really the story. No, that honor goes to Oliver Perez. He threw just 82 pitches to complete seven innings, and he would have gone into the eighth if the offense hadn’t decided to send twelve very patient batters to the plate in the top half of the inning. Perez looked great. He mixed his pitches, hit the corners, adjusted speeds, and looked stellar. He finished with six strikeouts, only five hits, and zero walks. For a guy who has been struggling with his control for the better part of three seasons, tonight was an unexpected gem.

Things I Like:

• Reyes’ legs: two triples, including one to lead off the game, really set the tone for the offense
• LoDuca is truly a leader on the field. On a soft bunt from pitcher Mark Redman that was meant to be a sacrifice, LoDuca was smart enough and in control enough to call for Perez to field the ball and quickly throw out the runner at second. Plus, he quickly hit a sac fly to score Reyes from third in the first inning, which is why I love him in the two-hole. He’s a very, very underrated player on this team.
• Oliver Perez threw inside and hit his spots well. Plus, after he gave up a towering home run to Jeff Francoeur, he retired the next ten batters.
• Every starter scored a run except Paul LoDuca, who only had two hits and an RBI.

Things I Don’t Like:

• Reyes’ reckless sliding. On his first triple of the game, Sandy Alomar, Jr. was clearly telling him that he could come in to third standing up because there wasn’t going to be a play, but Jose slid anyway. Why does he always do that??? Is he determined to hurt himself again? Don’t get me wrong: he’s clearly getting smarter and learning the game more, but he needs to listen to his coaches more on the base paths.
• David Wright seems to have no bat speed so far this season. Sure, he had a solid double in the fifth inning tonight, but that was really it. He let Mark Redman blow an 85 mph fastball by him. Twice! I know we’re only four games in but I’m afraid that my gut feeling with Wright may be correct: he’s not going to have a good season at all.
• Moises Alou’s hands: We all know why he doesn’t wear batting gloves (and let me just say “eww”) but it’s a very cold night and they can really help him grip the bat. When your hand is numb, I don’t care how tough the skin of your hand is (or how much you’ve peed on yourself)—you can’t grip the bat with any amount of strength.
• Why was Howard Johnson wearing batting gloves?
• Lastings Milledge sitting on the bench. I agree for now that Shawn Green should start, but why should a young kid (22 as of yesterday) sit on the bench and get no work in? He’s had one at-bat so far this season (two, if you count his one-pitch fly out tonight; why not keep him in extended spring training or send him to New Orleans? I realize that he’ll probably go down when Pelfrey comes up, but why do that to the kid?
• Screw ESPN.com. How can they possibly justify ranking the Mets forth in their first Power Rankings of the season? Have they not been paying attention this first week? They write that they’re comparing their predictions to how teams have played, but a bunch of their own analysts picked the Mets to win the World Series!!! Nonesense. (Gee, guess who was ranked first.)

I just feel numb right now. My hands don’t want to type. My arms are weak. The season is over.

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When you’re a team built on offense but you get just two hits after the first inning, there’s not much of a chance you’re going to win Game 7 in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Mets just couldn’t seem to get the job done and were eliminated from the playoffs by the Cardinals, 3-1, in front of a loud, wet crowd at Shea Stadium.

Yadier Molina was the hero, hitting a ninth inning, one-out home run to left field off of Aaron Heilman. The Mets had their chance in the bottom of the ninth; Valentine and Chavez both singled to lead off the inning, but Cliff Floyd struck out, Jose Reyes lined out hard to center, and Carlos Bentran struck out looking. Looking.

Who would have predicted a pitcher’s duel between Jeff Suppan and Oliver Perez? It was 1-1 until the ninth inning and neither team had hit the ball hard. Perez threw six innings, allowing only 1 run and four hits; Suppan made it through seven, giving up just two hits. But once again, the Mets give up a run immediately after they score, so Perez’s shockingly strong performance was wasted.

The story of the game, had the Mets pulled it out, would have been a catch by Endy Chavez in the sixth inning. With one out and Jim Edmunds on first, Scott Rolen slammed a shot over the left field wall, only to have it snow-coned by Chavez, who then promptly threw the ball to the infield to double-off the runner. It was a play akin to Willy Mays against Vic Wertz, to Derek Jeter against Jeremy Giambi. It would have been a play for history. But since the Mets lost, it will probably be forgotten.

There’s not much else to say about this game. It was a great game from start to finish and it seemed that either team could have won, but this one didn’t go our way. It hurts to have lost due to a lack of offense; I would be okay with losing due to poor pitching, but to go out on such a dull offensive performance is very hard to deal with.

We’ll have more to come soon, but for now take a look through the game notes below. Give us your thoughts on the game, the series, and the now-present offseason. (Man that hurts to write.)

GAME NOTES

-The Mets could have struck a real blow in the first inning but settled for just one run. When Beltran singled and Delgado walked, Wright blooped a cheap single to right and scored Beltran. But Shawn Green couldn’t get it done and lined out to third base. He hit it hard but it was right at Scott Rolen. That lead would have been nice, especially since the Cards came back and tied it in the top of the second.

-The Cardinals could have scored big in their half of the third but Perez worked his way out of a jam in impressive fashion. With Eckstein and Pujols in first and second, Perez induced a sure-thing double play to Reyes from Juan Encarnacion. He really was much better than we had any right to expect.

-Is it just me or was this a ridiculously even series? The momentum swung back and forth between teams and the runs were scored pretty evenly. Don’t get me wrong: the Mets should have dominated the series and probably won it in five, but the games themselves were all very good, very close contests.

-quite frankly, that was the best clutch catch I have ever seen. The Cardinals were threatening to go up 3-1 and have all the momentum in their favor. The way the Mets offense had been shut down, that home run could have effectively ended their season. But Endy Chavez, a guy who has become something of a folk hero to Mets fans, nearly lost his glove by reaching over the fence and bringing back a home run, then doubling off Jim Edumuds at first. It was awesome.

-Where exactly is the real Yadier Molina? Isn’t he supposed to be a great throwing catcher but a terrible offensive player? He’s done nothing but hurt the Mets with his bat this entire series, yet his arm hasn’t been much of a threat at all. His ninth inning HR to put the Cards ahead was quite a shot, and it was his second of the postseason.

-If Endy Chavez didn’t make that catch, Willie Randolph’s decision to stick with Perez would have been a heated topic all winter.  Randolph went to the mound, asked Perez if he wanted to say in, and the next batter sends a pitch over the wall.  Not that I agree that it’s Willie’s fault– hey, these things happen– but… remember what happened when Grady Little stuck with Pedro a bit too long a few years ago?  Same deal.

-Add Aaron Heilman to the list of Mets relievers to give up some big runs in this series. Mota was bad in Game 1, Wagner was ugly in Game 6, and now Heilman. They threw a lot of innings and did really well, but in the postseason, you have to aim for perfection. The bullpen isn’t the reason the Mets are heading home for the winter, but it could have made the difference if they had been better.