It's good to see the Mets being more aggressive on the basepaths, and it certainly paid off tonight when Carlos Beltran stole third in the ninth inning to put himself in position to score the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Luis Castillo.
But if Beltran had been called out at third, and he looked out on the replay, the Mets' baserunning for the game would look a lot different. In the seventh, David Wright was thrown out at home. In the eighth, Jose Reyes was out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple. In the ninth, Fernando Tatis was picked off first.
So that is three Mets out on the basepaths in the seventh, eighth and ninth. And that does not include Beltran's close play at third.
Tonight, the Mets' baserunning helped them win the game. But it's one thing to be aggressive - it's another to so desperate to score with Carlos Delgado out of the lineup that you always try to take the extra base even when there's little chance of it succeeding.
And now Jerry Manuel is talking about playing Daniel Murphy at first. Time will tell if that is agressive managing - or desperate managing.
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Johan Santana's great start with no run support has sparked memories of Bob Gibson going 22-9 with an ERA of 1.12. in 1968. It also made me think of Tom Seaver going 20-10 in 1971 with an ERA of 1.76.
According to baseball-reference.com, Gibson ended May with a record of 3-5 and an ERA of 1.52. But he then won his next 15 starts in a row. 10 of the wins were shutouts. In the 15 games, Gibson gave up 11 runs.
All 15 of the wins were complete games. Gibson had complete games in 28 of his 34 starts.
Gibson ended up with 13 shutouts in 1968. That means that in games in which Gibson did not pitch a shutout, he only went 9-9!
With Delgado on the mend, the Mets do look a tad desperate at first base. Here's a thought, send back J.J. Putz and Sean Green and get back young prospect Mike Carp. On another note, it was great to see Chipper Jones in a tither over that play at third w/ Beltran last night. "The baseball gods own us one." Poor Larry.
ReplyDeleteChipper Jones? Is he still playing?
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see the Mets streaking and showing some naked aggression on the basepaths, isn't it? Showing some real raw action. Maybe this year their trophy cabinet won't look so bare. They might actually get into the Playoffs by the skin of their teeth. Yeah, maybe this time they can crack their way in. And maybe they won't be the butt of any jokes this time. Oops, too late...
Of course, as long as Omar Minaya is the general manager, he's still the emperor with no clothes, and will almost certainly, once again, leave his manager and players totally exposed.
Last night was not a good night to be a Yankee Fan, but when I saw that picture in the Daily News, I felt all better.
On a more serious note, though, it makes me think of a previous unauthorized entry onto a Mets home field. In the aftermath of 9/11, how would anyone react if anyone parachuted into the stadium and onto the field the way that yutz did at Shea during the '86 Series? Probably with less enjoyment than they got at the time, and with less than that streaker gave them last night.