Duque' lays an egg

Well, there certainly wasn't much good that can be taken from El Duque's game last night. If anything It raises more questions for me that it answers. I must say that I got a little tired of the SNY crew making excuses for Duque last night. His whole demeanor on the mound bothered me. He seemed unable to adapt or work his way thru the line-up last night. The home plate ump wasn't giving him the calls he wanted and Duque' couldn't get anything but his fastball over. Why shouldn't some questions be raised about his postseason role after last night's egg? I thought veteran pitchers were supposed to be smart, and know how to get batters out even on off nights? Last night's egg proves to me that Duque' is not a lock for the post season rotation. If Maine and Perez continue to pitch well, they should be starting and Duque' should come out of the pen.

One of the few bright spots last night was the hitting of Wright, Reyes, Lo Duca, and Alou'. All 4 continue to deliver and Reyes seems to be listening to HoJo. He was swinging level and driving the ball. He also laid off the high pitches. Pauly continues his barrage and now has 12 RBI in his last 8 games I believe. I was hoping Wright's double would be a home run, but he came up a few feet short.

I also was happy to see Pelfrey and Humber in the Game last night. Pelfrey got through with only 1 run in 2 innings, and Humber pitched a perfect 9th. I think both are good canidates for the pen this post season. Sele' is out, and I don't trust Mota.

I was a little puzzled too as to why Conine was playing. Maybe Willie wanted to rest Green because they face Glavine today. The Mets will need to bring the big bats out to beat Smoltz again. I doubt he's going to go quietly into the night. Hopefully Maine brings that killer attitude he had in Atlanta, and not the lost attitude he had in Cincy. He's pitching for his playoff roster spot. Unfortunately Willie and Omar have decided that either Maine or Perez are going to the pen. So Ollie and John need to make the case that they belong starting, not El Dudque.