Snap Judgments - Mets/Bucs rain-shortened series
As I wrote on Monday, the Bucs were in town this week. I had tickets for all three games, but Monday's rainout pushed the opener back to August 11th. I picked up those tickets (and all the others) at Will Call on Tuesday when my wife and I went to Shea on a freezing, windy evening to see the Pirates lose in 11 to the Mets, 5-4. We both should have dressed in parkas as the wind was relentless. We were in the Loge Reserved section of left field and it was a veritable wind tunnel from the time we arrived for Bucco BP until we left in the 8th inning, the Pirates trailing 4-3. Yeah, I know, we left early...but we were frozen. By the time we got home, the temperature was around 40 degrees, sustained winds at 20+mph and a frost advisory on...not exactly baseball weather.
Elements aside, we saw a decent game featuring each team's respective ace. For the Mets, Johan Santana was on the hill and the Bucs trotted out Ian Snell. Neither starter was dominant and neither factored in the decision, but it's always fun to see guys with such remarkable talent, especially Santana, go out and pitch.
Santana fires a pitch against the the Bucs on Tuesday night. The Venezuelan lefty went 5 2/3 innings, struck out seven and racked up two hits on the night.
Overall, the two keys were Freddy Sanchez botching what was a tailor-made double play ball in the 5th that would have ended the inning and the Pirates' failure on two occasions with the bases loaded. Of course I could blame recently-recalled righty John Van Benschoten for his terrible 11th inning that ultimately led to the loss, but the Pirates were given many chances to break the game open and they could not, YET AGAIN, deliver a clutch hit. The Bucs were a pathetic 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position on the night.
In the sixth, Adam "Don't call me clutch" LaRoche popped up on a check swing with the bases loaded to end the inning. In the 7th, Jose Bautista was called out at the plate after trying to score when a ball popped away from catcher Raul Cassanova. I was initially very upset with Bautista's "aggressiveness," but after I saw the replay at home, I'm convinced home plate umpire Hunter Wendlestedt blew the call. The 8th was even more painful when the Bucs loaded the bases with one out and scored only one run, on a bases-loaded walk to LaRoche, before Ronny Paulino popped out to end the threat.
Bautista reacts after being nailed at home plate. Though he's as slow as molasses in January, he may have been victimized by a bad call.
The Bucs did battle back to tie it in the 9th of closer Billy Wagner, but in the 11th, Van Benschoten fell apart. Johnny V was ahead of Endy Chavez 0-2 and threw a fat fastball, belt-high down the middle, that Chavez ripped into centerfield. Van Benschoten then balked Chavez to second. After that it was just a matter of time before the heart of the Mets order, specifically third baseman David Wright, finished off the game. Wright's long single with the bases loaded over a drawn-in outfield proved to be the game-winner.
On the positive side of things, Nate Mac hit an absolute bomb off of Santana to lead off the game. It was Nate Mac's only hit of the night, but it was a shot and a statement all at once. Mark these words: Nate McLouth will be in the Top 10 of most major offensive categories at the end of the season INCLUDING home runs. Bold prediction or predictable homeresque bluster? I guess only time will tell.
Wednesday brought an afternoon matinee at Shea and thankfully, the weather was much better. Following Mother Nature's lead, the Pirates brought a sun-shiny *** kicking to the Mets as they pounded the Amazins, 13-1.
The Bucs celebrate a 13-1 win over the Mets at Shea on Wednesday afternoon. The Bucs put up their season-high 13 without a home run.
For once, it was nice to see a team other than the Pirates engage in a bit of "Pirates baseball." The Mets were atrocious in every facet of the game. Oliver Perez couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, giving up seven runs on only two hits, but surrendering five walks in only 1 2/3 innings.
I swore I'd seen this out of Perez before...it's kind of fuzzy in my mind...no, wait...there it is...oh yeah! There it is!
Tom Gorzelanny was also a bit wild, walking five, but Gorzo continued to pitch his way out of self-inflicted jams and put up five innings of shutout ball before leaving with a minor back injury.
The offense was decent, but not as great as you might think with a "13" on the scoreboard. The Bucs were helped by terrible pitching and even worse fielding. The Mets committed three errors, but at least two other mental errors and played with absolutely no effort after going down 7-0 in the 2nd inning. I can't feel anything but happiness when I see another team implode and melt down in front of my eyes. I've seen my own team do it so many times that, as manager Willie Randolph said of his team after the game, "In 162 games, you're going to have stinkers like that." Ain't that the truth, Willie?
Angel Pagan did his best Brant Brown impersonation and actually committed two gaffes on this play.
The highlight of this game was the apparent decision by manager John Russell to go with veteran Chris Gomez at shortstop until Jack Wilson comes back off the DL. Gomez started the night before at SS and played well and he hasn't been out of the lineup in the three games since. I can't believe how much the Pirates miss Wilson right now, but Gomez is certainly the only guy in that dugout who at least gives the Pirates a legitimate option at a very important position. Brian Bixler is certainly not the answer and I don't want to see Luis Rivas taking ground balls at shortstop for as long as he happens to wear a Pirates uniform which I hope is not a terribly long time.
Chris Gomez, code name "Stop Gap."
Elements aside, we saw a decent game featuring each team's respective ace. For the Mets, Johan Santana was on the hill and the Bucs trotted out Ian Snell. Neither starter was dominant and neither factored in the decision, but it's always fun to see guys with such remarkable talent, especially Santana, go out and pitch.
Santana fires a pitch against the the Bucs on Tuesday night. The Venezuelan lefty went 5 2/3 innings, struck out seven and racked up two hits on the night.Overall, the two keys were Freddy Sanchez botching what was a tailor-made double play ball in the 5th that would have ended the inning and the Pirates' failure on two occasions with the bases loaded. Of course I could blame recently-recalled righty John Van Benschoten for his terrible 11th inning that ultimately led to the loss, but the Pirates were given many chances to break the game open and they could not, YET AGAIN, deliver a clutch hit. The Bucs were a pathetic 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position on the night.
In the sixth, Adam "Don't call me clutch" LaRoche popped up on a check swing with the bases loaded to end the inning. In the 7th, Jose Bautista was called out at the plate after trying to score when a ball popped away from catcher Raul Cassanova. I was initially very upset with Bautista's "aggressiveness," but after I saw the replay at home, I'm convinced home plate umpire Hunter Wendlestedt blew the call. The 8th was even more painful when the Bucs loaded the bases with one out and scored only one run, on a bases-loaded walk to LaRoche, before Ronny Paulino popped out to end the threat.
Bautista reacts after being nailed at home plate. Though he's as slow as molasses in January, he may have been victimized by a bad call.The Bucs did battle back to tie it in the 9th of closer Billy Wagner, but in the 11th, Van Benschoten fell apart. Johnny V was ahead of Endy Chavez 0-2 and threw a fat fastball, belt-high down the middle, that Chavez ripped into centerfield. Van Benschoten then balked Chavez to second. After that it was just a matter of time before the heart of the Mets order, specifically third baseman David Wright, finished off the game. Wright's long single with the bases loaded over a drawn-in outfield proved to be the game-winner.
On the positive side of things, Nate Mac hit an absolute bomb off of Santana to lead off the game. It was Nate Mac's only hit of the night, but it was a shot and a statement all at once. Mark these words: Nate McLouth will be in the Top 10 of most major offensive categories at the end of the season INCLUDING home runs. Bold prediction or predictable homeresque bluster? I guess only time will tell.
Wednesday brought an afternoon matinee at Shea and thankfully, the weather was much better. Following Mother Nature's lead, the Pirates brought a sun-shiny *** kicking to the Mets as they pounded the Amazins, 13-1.
The Bucs celebrate a 13-1 win over the Mets at Shea on Wednesday afternoon. The Bucs put up their season-high 13 without a home run.For once, it was nice to see a team other than the Pirates engage in a bit of "Pirates baseball." The Mets were atrocious in every facet of the game. Oliver Perez couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, giving up seven runs on only two hits, but surrendering five walks in only 1 2/3 innings.
I swore I'd seen this out of Perez before...it's kind of fuzzy in my mind...no, wait...there it is...oh yeah! There it is! Tom Gorzelanny was also a bit wild, walking five, but Gorzo continued to pitch his way out of self-inflicted jams and put up five innings of shutout ball before leaving with a minor back injury.
The offense was decent, but not as great as you might think with a "13" on the scoreboard. The Bucs were helped by terrible pitching and even worse fielding. The Mets committed three errors, but at least two other mental errors and played with absolutely no effort after going down 7-0 in the 2nd inning. I can't feel anything but happiness when I see another team implode and melt down in front of my eyes. I've seen my own team do it so many times that, as manager Willie Randolph said of his team after the game, "In 162 games, you're going to have stinkers like that." Ain't that the truth, Willie?
Angel Pagan did his best Brant Brown impersonation and actually committed two gaffes on this play. The highlight of this game was the apparent decision by manager John Russell to go with veteran Chris Gomez at shortstop until Jack Wilson comes back off the DL. Gomez started the night before at SS and played well and he hasn't been out of the lineup in the three games since. I can't believe how much the Pirates miss Wilson right now, but Gomez is certainly the only guy in that dugout who at least gives the Pirates a legitimate option at a very important position. Brian Bixler is certainly not the answer and I don't want to see Luis Rivas taking ground balls at shortstop for as long as he happens to wear a Pirates uniform which I hope is not a terribly long time.
Chris Gomez, code name "Stop Gap."
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