Thursday, June 07, 2007

Seventh Hell

A little clarity, a little more time to think, and a little bit of alcohol got me thinking about Tuesday night's game. And the one recurring theme in my mind was this: With Geoff Geary on the mound in a tie game, and the heart of your order at the plate, you have to win. You have to find a way to scratch one run home. It's inexcusable for the Mets not to have done that.

So Wednesday night, here we are again. Geoff Geary on the mound, and this time the Mets are down by a run with runners on second and third and nobody out. I stress one more time: You have to beat Geoff Geary.

If this was 2006, Geary is beaten down like a minor leaguer. Earlier this season, Geary was beaten down like a minor leaguer. Now? Well not only do the Mets go down meekly in the home half of the seventh inning, they go down spectacularly...in flames even. They go down with seemingly their last outfielder standing healthy getting shot by a sniper...the hamstring sniper...while beating out a double play to bring home the tying run (which really should have scored with nobody out and Ryan Howard sprawling to smother the Julio Franco grounder with Ruben Gotay already halfway home, but that's another issue altogether).

They say that Endy Chavez's hamstring is "strained". I'd hate to see what an actual tear would have looked like. Would he have been taken off on a wheelchair like Dwyane Wade? And with that, the curse of the Shea outfield continues, with Shawn Green still hurt and Moises Alou taking his sweet time getting back to the lineup (even though at his age, time should be a terrible thing to waste). Don't be surprised if Alou makes a slightly sooner than expected return to the lineup tomorrow (calls to Eric Valent, Gerald Williams, and Brian McRae were not immediately returned).

Of course, the bottom of the seventh is moot without the top of the seventh, and the latest meltdown by Aaron Heilman (which I suspect was a jinx job by Keith Hernandez...first he goes on and on about what a great job Pedro Feliciano had done this season before he gave up the home run to Chase Utley, and tonight he waxes poetic on how much better Aaron Heilman has been lately before he goes ka-boom with a three run explosion in the top of the inning...thanks a lot Keith).

If this game had happened in September, it would have been devastating. Terry Pendelton like, even. That game had Ron Darling's injury (the same Ron Darling who was in Shea Stadium's version of the penalty box announcing the game tonight...was that his Anaheim Duck homage?), this had Endy's injury. That game had Pendleton's blast, this game had Jimmy Rollins' three run HR off Heilman. The only thing that game had that this one didn't, thankfully, was the month of September. But think of the life that the Mets just gave the Phillies tonight...you thought Jimmy Rollins was confident coming into the season? His confidence is sky high right now...do we really want that? And now, if we didn't have enough Cole Hamels Facts, here's another one: The Mets have to beat him on Thursday just to save themselves from a sweep. They can't hit Geoff Geary or Adam Eaton right now (Adam Eaton, for crying out loud...Adam Eaton!!!) We're really expecting them to beat Cole Hamels?

The Mets have deserved the benefit of the doubt all season. And as horiffic as Wednesday's game was, they're still 3 and a half ahead of Atlanta. But the pulse of the team can't be good after their first three game losing streak of the season. And at some point a good team like this has to sit back and ask themselves what they need to do to right the ship. With the schedule in June as brutal as it is (starting with Detroit on Friday and on from there), games like Wednesday's needed to be won.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't believe how many of us thought of 1987 tonight. Man, we need Metbotomies.

Anonymous said...

Butch Husky, white courtesy phone ....

Anonymous said...

What they need is to get the healthy. The injuries have wreck the balance in their lineup. Players are hitting in slots in the order they are not suited for and the bottom third of the order is now a rest stop for the pitcher instead of a source of production for the Mets. When healthy, the Mets 6-8 are Alou, Green and Valentin. Currently, it may be Lo Duca,Gotay and Newhan. No comparison for power and production.

JMP said...

I think Endy has proved he's not an everyday player. And now he can't be :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, I do expect them to beat Cole Hamels. There, I said it.

And I may revise my current line of thinking that said I didn't want to be at Shea tonight.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the jinx was us goofballs making Tony Geary cracks in the stands last night. ("Laura, I love you!").

The offensive failures these past two games has been inexcusable, I don't care who's playing.

Anonymous said...

Put LoDuca in the 2-hole tonight, Willie, if you read this blog.

Ceetar said...

I don't consider Philadelphia tough of this stretch of schedule. As far as I see it, that starts Friday. The Mets have been playing flat, and last night didn't help...or did it.

Losing Endy, losing a game like that, I think the Mets will realize, we need to actually play. They'll step it up, mess up Hamels, and then go on a killer 19-5 stretch through June as the pieces fall back into place. (Valentin tonight right?)

On July first, we'll all wondering who the Mets are going to play in the first round.

Anonymous said...

I hear they're bring up Ricky Ledee . . .Ricky Ledee . . . hmmm.

Let's .500 ball until Green gets back. That's my hope.

Anonymous said...

I think its probably somewhere between .500 and the optimistic 19-5 stretch (I'm not sure if hitting three home runs and losing means messing up Hamels?). The upcoming stretch will be tough and the injuries are going to make this season very different from the cakewalk of 2006.

I don't think you're giving enough credit to Philly (certainly the Met broadcasters were). They did it all...starters, bullpen, clutch hitting, defense. They really made a statement in this series. How ironic would it be if the Phillies were turned out to be the Mets' main competition after all the Rollins type prognostications at the beginning of the season?

Anonymous said...

If its any consolation, This Philly is the best team we played all year