The Duel of Aces turns on an Error

This game was billed as a Duel of ACES and it certainly lived up to it. Both Haren and Santana gave up very little and the Bull-pens decided the game. This time the Mets came out on top.

Last year I used a Movie title as a theme for my post game comments. I think I'll use it here too.


The Good

Marlon Anderson, David Wright, and Jose' Reyes provided the hits that made the difference. Jose' had a critical SacFly in the 9th inning, and David crushed a ball into the seat in right center field. He just missed a home run in the 1st inning when he drove a ball to the wall in center. Carlos had another hit and scored a run on Jose's SacFly. Beltran managed a hit and scored on Anderson's single to take the lead. The Mets went into the 9th inning tied and managed to score three runs to seal the win. They took advantage of an error by Jackson to kick open the door and score the deciding runs. All too often the Mets have been on the wrong side of that situation this year.
The defense was also good when it was needed. Church made a great throw from the left field foul area to nail a runner at third. It was his 4th assist this year, and shows how strong that arm is. It turned out to be the game saving play. Without his strong accurate throw, the D-Backs have the go ahead run on 3rd base with no outs. Because of it, they have one out and never showed any life after that. Plays like that are becoming common with Ryan, and prove the value of the Milledge trade. Reyes made some great plays too, and was robbed of a PO on a blown call at 1st base. Castillo was clean in the field and had a busy day throwing to first base.

The Bad

The umpires were terrible. They missed a call at 1st base, and clearly blew a call at second base early in the game. Ojeda was out stretching a hit into a double, but the ump blew it. The strike zone didn't seem very consistent either. The pitchers were rolling the dice when they threw pitches on the corners. Sometimes they were strikes, sometimes not.

The defense has bad too. Feliciano throw away a ball that could have been a disaster. If not for Ryan's great arm and hustle, the D-Backs would have had a runner on third in the 8th inning. At that time the game was in the balance, and who knows how the Mets would have responded if the D-Backs took the lead there.

Castillo and Ryan were hitless and Beltran continues to struggle. Delgado is becoming a better hitter lately than Beltran. THAT'S SCARY!!! Schneider was also hitless although he did have a critical sac bunt in the 9th.

The UGLY

Schneider's defense sucks. I've never seen such a lousy catcher behind the plate. He had the reputation of being this great defensive catcher when he was acquired in the Milledge trade. Doesn't he know how to block any balls in the dirt? Does he know how to CATCH THE BALL!!! I've lost count on how many times this year balls have popped out of his glove. Santana was charged with 3 wild pitches today. That has never happened before in his career. If Schneider could actually do his job, none of them would have happened. Casanova and Molina put Brian to shame behind the plate. They catch and block everything. They can even hit the ball. If I had a say in it, Brian would be the backup catcher to Raul. Brian has done nothing to impress me this year. The game announcers try to pass it off as his lack of playing time this year. And who's fault is that? If he STAYED HEALTHY, he'd be playing more. Why don't Molina, Casanova, or Castro have these catching problems? Is it maybe because they CAN MOVE AROUND BEHIND THE PLATE and catch the ball? As bad as Lo Duca was claimed to be behind the plate, he looks like Johnny Bench compared to Brian. Everything Brian has been dropping and missing, Pauly caught or blocked. Doing that alone saves runs.

Now onto L.A. and a date with the Dodgers. The Mets website says Figueroa is pitching but I heard something about Ollie pitching Monday. I hope it's Nelson that faces the Dodgers 1st. It's alot easier to win the series when you win the 1st game. I doubt I'm alone in these feelings, but I don't trust Ollie to keep his head on straight. I bet people on the Mets feel the same about Ollie. If he has another Meltdown like he did against the Pirates, it could get real ugly in NY when he returns.