Willie gets a Reprieve for the Day

I listened to most of the game yesterday and was not feeling too good by the end on the 2nd inning. Pettitte was striking everyone out and the Mets were falling behind in a hurry. Good thing it was the Yankees they were playing, because they're about the only team worse than the Mets now.

The game didn't start out well, but the end result was a win. I have mixed feelings about the win though. Santana gave up 3 home runs, but did pitch into the 8th inning. He had some innings where he only threw 6 pitches for 3 outs, so he was conservative with them when needed. But 3 home runs is way too many to be giving up. The only thing I can say is that the extra rest isn't doing him any favors. I've heard that extra rest hurts Johan's effectiveness, and that seems to be holding true this year. Every time he has an extra day or two of rest, he struggles with his control. Reyes looked terrible at the plate today. The best swing was the single up the middle. He was swinging at pitches all over the place, and is looking more like the rookie Reyes than a 4 year vet. Delgado continues to look bad at the plate, and Easley struck out all day long. The Mets hitters have all been striking out way too often this year, and that is hurting the offense. Isn't there anyone that can throw breaking pitches in batting practice? The team as a whole never seems to be able to consistently hit a breaking pitch. If the opposing pitcher has a curve, slider, or splitter that they can throw anytime in the count for strikes, them Mets struggle.

The other reason for having mixed feeling about the game is because of Willie. The victory over the Yankees just prolongs our suffering. The more wins this team manages over the rest of the month, the more likely that we'll be stuck with Witless Willie as a manager. As bad as it sounds, we need the team to lose games if we ever have a hope of the Wilpon's removing Randumb from the team. This team will just continue to break our hearts and scuffle along as long as Willie is the manager.

The Mets may win today, but they have a terrible schedule for the rest of the month. Atlanta, Colorado, Florida, L.A.,all wait for the Mets. The Braves have only lost a handful of games at home, and the Rockies are always tough at Home. It's quite possible for the Mets to win only 5 games the rest of the month. If they have another bad home stand or road trip the end could be in site for Witless Willie. His firing is long overdue, but somehow I bet he survives the year. Especially since he's been named to the All-Star coaching staff. Is he going to be Hurdles' personal towel boy? That's all he's qualified to do right now.