Sunday, August 12, 2007

French Cooking With A Sickening Twist

Jorge Sosa is like French cooking...at least according to a fan on the 7 train tonight. Sosa was pretty good in the seventh and eighth innings on Friday night, so French cooking must be pretty good.

So what does that make Guillermo Mota and Aaron Heilman?

Salmonella and Botulism, apparently.

The Florida Marlins, let's face it, are a team that should be beaten into submission by teams at the top of the division. They run themselves out of innings. They have a left fielder that calls for a ball that is headed twenty rows deep into the bleachers, and a third baseman that would have probably scored in the sixth inning if he would have had a salad instead of another mozzarepa for lunch yesterday.

But all of those weaknesses, along with tonight's strength of David Wright's two bombs (and Carlos Delgado's bunt hit...bunt hit!!!) were neutralized by the dynamic duo of Salmonella Mota and Aaron Botulism. Excessive amounts will make any Met fan vomit (as well as excessive amounts of these gut wrenching losses).

I'm done. I'm done with them. Listen, I'm not right about a lot of things, as you well know by reading this drivel. But one thing I did say that kinda sorta made sense was that last winter was the time to trade Aaron Heilman. His value as a money pitcher was at its peak last year...even the infamous Yadier Molina home run was generally forgiven, as it was his second inning of work. But that was it. The trend was down, and everybody knew it. You know what you can get for him now?
  • A Ziploc bag full of toothpaste. Not even in the tube, just a plastic bag that you have to dip your toothbrush in to brush your teeth.
  • You know when you crack off the tab on your VHS tape so nobody can record over it anymore? You can get a bag full of those...not the tapes, the plastic tabs.
  • Steve Trachsel.

(I'm starting to miss Steve Trachsel. At least Trachsel would let you know early that a game was a lost cause. What's the use of having a 300 game winner on your team if your bullpen is only going to rip your heart out in the end? Steve Trachsel let you know early that your night was going to be a wash so that you could go to the pub and commiserate.)

And I'm sorry I ever started to soften on the other twin. It really was in our best interests that Mota would bounce back from his suspension and shake off last season's NLCS. Omar Minaya was right...other teams wanted him in the off season. Willing to sign him at multiple seasons. He's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't on that one. If he goes somewhere and is lights out, Minaya looks foolish. So I could understand what he's thinking here. We should have been a better team with the inclusion of Guillermo Mota. Instead, I wish that he could have just been evasive and vague like every other mope that got caught on the juice so that Omar wouldn't have thought twice about not signing him and that would have been that. Instead, Mota had to be truly sorry, much to our detriment.

Scott Schoeneweis was the Mets' best reliever on Saturday. Just thought I'd remind you of that.

And here's another thing that bothers me: If Carlos Beltran can't hit from the right side, we're through. I thought Willie was a boob tonight for putting Ruben Gotay up to pinch hit instead of Beltran in the eighth with two runners on, and no guarantee that Beltran would see the light of day today. Instead, Beltran comes up for Luis Castillo (with Gotay already burned in the eighth meaning that Damion Easley would have had to go from right field to second base), an at bat that would have never happened if Jose Reyes hadn't walked with two outs in the ninth.

My point is this: teams are going to bring in lefties to force Beltran to bat righty the rest of the season. Who can blame you or me for thinking that this oblique that is hindering his right handed swing is going to stick around for a while. For crying out loud, it's 2005 all over again, where Beltran was hurt and David Wright has no protection (and as long as Carlos Delgado isn't going deep, Wright has no protection). So as long as Willie Randolph is forced to make goofy moves like holding batting Ruben Gotay and holding back Carlos Beltran, we're doomed...doomed to an immediate future of throwing up in the bathroom non-stop from some bad bullpen food.

So where can I get some of that French cooking?

17 comments:

JAMMQ said...

The game doesn't get to Heilman the way it did if Willie doesn't spazz out and take out Glavine in the middle of the 7th while Glavine is coasting.

It doesn't matter if Beltran is batting left-handed or right-handed, he can't hit in the clutch, and for that we are screwed.

What is mozzarepa? Sounds like a new Reggaeton song Jose Reyes has in his iPod.

Metstradamus said...

Agreed on your first point.

Mozzarepa: a variation on the "arepa", a cornmeal patty of Colombian origin, this handy sandwich of cornmeal cakes and mozzarella cheese is a hint of sweet and a hint of salt permeated with copious amounts of fat. $3.50.

Devon Jeffreys said...

JammQ, Beltran can't hit in the clutch? How soon we forget the three run homer he hit Friday night that gave the Mets the lead for Wagner to give up and accounted for exactly all the offense the team could muster against Ray and Robert Barone's half brother.

Beltran isn't the problem and the oblique will heal (probably). The problem is no one else is willing to stand up on the team. Beltran accounted for all the offense Friday and Wright did pretty much the same tonight. Until the Delgado's, Green's, Alou's and especially LoDuca's start producing, we're going to keep seeing losses like this.

Mike said...

I never understood the Mota Experiment.

And I still don't.

Meanwhile, why are Joe Smith & The Amburglar sitting in the soup in 'Norlins, while this ass-clown gives up grand slams, lead-off singles, and fidgets and grimaces on the mound every night.

For crissakes, now that the Yanks have Joba the Hutt, even Torre can't do his silly Farnsworth routine. Is Willie trying to steal his thunder?

(Thunder, as in no-doubt grand slams.)

Krup said...

I'm no Jimmy Rollins but here's a prediction: Phillies take the division. Mets come in 3rd behind the Braves.

Krup said...

oh, and we now have a worse record than the Yankees...

Unknown said...

Willie Randolph is a terrible, terrible manager

Anonymous said...

I have been a Willie supporter for most of his time here. This season I have been questioning some of his moves... but still thought he was the right guy.

After watching him walk back to the dugout with his tail between his legs after jose was called out at home last night was the last straw.

SOMEBODY HAD TO ARGUE THAT CALL TILL THEY GOT THROWN OUT OF THE GAME!

The team needed it... it was obvious... everyone saw it coming... I bet willie bought the ump a beer after the game to make sure they were still friends.

Mestra - I think New Orleans has some good french cookin... In the form of smith, amby, humber or pelf in the bullpen.

Anonymous said...

The date the Mets activated Mota is the date they began their sub-.500 playing. Of course, the date Minaya SIGNED the cheating bastard was the date the Mets were saying: "We have no desire for improvement, and we're on the low-road now to the basement again, Suckers! Your season has come--in your mouth!" The 2006 bullpen was destroyed, the hubris of thinking some old men having career years would produce an "AL" offense with a 41-year-old cripple added, and a (let's face it) subpar year for Reyes [Delgado's decline has been documented, his weight loss noted], rant rant rant. Overall, I think Willie has a lot to learn, but Omar really let him down, and the Franco/Rick Down situation exposed the obvious rift in the organization.

Jaap said...

Willie manages pinch hitting situations like an epileptic in the middle of a seizure playing one-man twister. We should be happy Glavine had already been removed else he might have ended up pinch hitting in lieu of Beltran because the wind was blowing in too strong from right to left.

But Mota and Heilman, wow. Keep them out of Seoul during the Dog Meat Festival...

JAMMQ said...

JammQ, Beltran can't hit in the clutch? How soon we forget the three run homer he hit Friday night that gave the Mets the lead . . .

Please don't infer that I somehow have a short memory. Do you remember Game 7 of last year's NLCS?

Or virtually every other clutch situtation Beltran has hit in? He will either strikeout, hit into a double play, or walk, but rarely deliver a hit.

Did you know Carlos Beltran is hitting in the .100's with runners in scoring position? That's brutal.

I love Beltran, but the truth is the truth. He is not a mentally tough player. If that isn't evident to you after his three years in New York, then maybe I'm not the only one with memory issues.

Mozzarepa sounds delicious.

Unknown said...

Heilman is the most bashed 3.50 ERA reliever in recent history. He's better than Wickman and he's the Mets' 3rd best reliever. This was his first bad outing in a while.

Also, Willie doesn't need any help making bad moves these days, he seems to make them in droves. How many times is Guillermo Mota going to be one of the only 5.00 ERA relievers that gets the ball in close games?

Unknown said...

Also, if anyone wants a good Armando Benitez/Jorge Julio impression, call up Ambiorix Burgos. The only guy worth calling up for relief help is Joe Smith.

JAMMQ said...

Please add striking out with Jose Reyes on 2nd base in the bottom of the 5th inning of a 4-4 game to the list of times Carlos Beltran failed to come through in the clutch.

It jut happened 45 seconds ago.

Anonymous said...

Damn, you people are the most negative people in the world. To see you all post, you'd think Beltran was hitting .210, Heilman had an ERA of 7.89, and the Mets were behind the Nats.

Cripes sakes, I don't expect sunshine and roses after losses, but jeebus this negativity is sickening.

Mike said...

subpar year for Reyes

???

Anonymous said...

Dear jammq,

Did you know that you are full of crap?

Carlos Beltran's current BA in 2007 with RISP is .245. While that isnt good, its not in the .100s as you stated.

Did you know that his BA in 2006 with RISP was .320 (much higher than his overall .275 average)? Or that it was .298 in 2005 (higher than his .266 overall average)?

But lets talk about the playoffs, since you have managed to remember a whole one at-bat.

Did you know that in the 2004 NLDS , his BA/OBP/SLG was .455/.500/1.091. That 1.091 isn't his OPS, thats JUST his SLG. Did you know that in the 2004 NLCS, it was .417/.563/.958. Yes, I know in the 2006 NLDS it was .222/.500/.222 (at least he was drawing walks, so he was getting on base every other time he was up!), but did you know that in the 2006 NLCS it was .296/.387/.667 (Sorry, only great, not superhuman as in 2004)?

Source for RISP stats - Hardball Times