Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Mike Pelfrey has the spirit of 0.86

If Jerry Manuel loses his job, the first person I had wanted to go with him was Dan Warthen. None of the starters appeared to be improving under Warthen. But now it looks like Warthen's methods are starting to pay off. Every starter except John Maine has looked good the last time out. And after tonight's win over the Cubs, Mike Pelfrey has an ERA of 0.86.

If not for Pelfrey's heroics, this might have turned into a typical Met loss. The 3 through 6 hitters were 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts. And that includes no. 6 hitter Ike Davis, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, a walk and run scored. David Wright is hitting .229 and heard loud boos. Jason Bay is hitting .235. Jeff Francoeur is 0 for his last 18. At least Jose Reyes finally broke out with four hits. But there never seems to be more than one or two Met hitters hot at the same time.

Ryota Igarashi strained a hamstring and needs an MRI. Carlos Beltran visited his surgeons in Colorado and was told he cannot begin running. Daniel Murphy's recovery is going slower than expected. Same old same old.

But when you have pitching, suddenly there is hope. It's not just the starters - as Metsblog noted earlier in the day, the Mets have the best bullpen ERA in the National League.

3 comments:

Riddering said...

Look on the even brighter side: the Mets have a better record than the Red Sox right now though hitters like Wright and Bay are slumping! I caught some of the Mets game last night while I waited for the Yanks to play and Reyes looked like he settled in nicely at the plate. However, SNY should never do the slo-mo thing on Rodriguez's victory face. That was not well thought out.

Uncle Mike said...

I actually went. I actually got on the 7, rode out to Willets Point, and paid money to sit among Met fans to watch the Mets. An entertaining game, and for some reason I'm like steroids (or greenies) for Pelfrey. He's got a 0.64 ERA with me in the ballpark. Without me, he must be over 5.

I think about 5,000 of the 27,500 were there just to see Ike Davis. And Cub fans must've made up another 5,000 or so. I guess the Met fans', for the moment, hopeless situation has made them less edgy and more tolerant of the opposition.

Jon Lewin said...

Riddering - The Red Sox must wish they had Bay, even though he's slumping, with Ellsbury and Cameron hurt.
Uncle Mike - You must be the Mets' good luck charm - with you in the house they won their second game in a row for the first time this year.

Search This Blog