Some have been complaining this morning that Johan Santana should not have pitched 9 innings yesterday. The complete game effort was the first of the year for any Met pitcher as Santana tallied 118 hurls against the Cardinals. You can’t win. The Mets get raked over the coals for not making him pitch the 9th on Tuesday evening. That was the game the Mets lost when the Phillies scored 6 runs in the 9th against three relievers. Yesterday Johan goes the distance and now the criticism is being leveled because with an 8 run lead he should have been pulled.
Without trying to come across as a Mets apologist, I think it was the perfect day for Johan to go nine. The Mets played a 5 hour marathon the night before and used every pitcher in their bullpen. Aaron Heilman who took the loss tossed close to 60 pitches in 3 innings. Also the Mets are headed to
Last year, the Mets bullpen was so overused that a collapse was imminent. There were whispers from Mets relievers that they were completely exhausted. The results down the stretch proved the rumors correct. So how is it not a good thing that your ace pitcher, the guy the team invested almost 140 million dollars in pitched a complete game? The pen got a day off and some needed rest before heading into yet another crucial series.
The Mets could have easily swept the home stand. All they needed to do that was three outs in the ninth inning on Tuesday night and a clutch hit in one of many opportunities on Saturday night. But perhaps this is a case where the two losses on the home stand serve to be more important than wins. After Tuesday night’s dreadful loss, the Mets could have spun out of control afterwards. Instead they shook it off and won the next two games and the series from the Phillies taking over first place in the National League East.
Saturday night the Mets came back from a 4-0 deficit to take the lead then fell behind again by three and tied it in the bottom of the ninth. Certainly it would have been an inspired win if hitters could have come through in several clutch situations but it was not to be. In his third inning of relief Aaron Heilman surrendered a two run jack to Albert Pujhols and that was the game. Again, the Mets could have come out yesterday flat as a pancake but instead, we saw them crush the Cardinals’ 12 game winner Kyle Lohse. During the early part of the season, the Mets would have most likely lost a couple of games after these devastating contests but not now. Something has rekindled the spirit we saw in 2006. You can’t count the Mets out of any game right now.
The Mets have not lost a series played since they lost 2 of 3 to
The Mets have completed their season series with the Cardinals having won 4 of the 7 games played. The only other central team the Mets have concluded business with is the Reds. The Mets have yet to play a single game against
But first the Mets must fend off the pesky Florida Marlins. The Marlins led the division for a good chuck of the season. Currently
The team licking their chops is the Phillies. They are behind the division leading Mets by one game and start a series tomorrow night in
This race will go down to the wire. The favored team should be the one with the most pitching. Right now you would have to conclude that it’s the Mets who fit that profile. But there are still a few days left till the no-waiver trading deadline. If the Phillies pull off a big deal then the balance could change. It appears the Mets won’t. The asking price for available corner outfielders is way too high and I commend the Mets for holding on to their top prospects. The Mets are away for the week. Let’s hope they take their winning ways with them.
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