"You want to charge, you charge. But don't bring your bat out there. I wasn't scared anyway." Pedro on mound-charging etiquette following Jose Guillen's thwarted and threatened move at Pedro for being hit twice in one game, thrice over two.
Jose being restrained: Does this look familiar?
Jose throwing bat in anger: See a Pattern, anyone?
Oh yeah, most certainly.
*****
A night after Guillen's quasi-heroics pulled the game out for the Nats, he was hit twice by a less-than-vintage Pedro, who earned the 198th victory of his career despite allowing five runs, four earned, and four hits on 96 pitches in six innings.
Of course, given The Toe and Pedro's general lack of Spring work, most would be grateful that not only did the Mets manage a 10-5 victory to take 2 of 3 from the Nats, but Pedro emerged unscathed, escaping even Guillen's crazed antics.
Guillen threatened even more after the game, noting "I know how to take care of it, don't worry, I'm going to make sure I play in all the games he's in. ... I want him to throw inside. Now I want him more than ever."
Contrast Madman Guillen with the reserved Nick Johnson who, after getting plunked earlier in the game by Martinez, followed with a three-run homer that tied it at 5.
By contrast,the Nats hit only one batter, but reliever Felix Rodriguez was ejected when he plunked Lo Duca with first base open in the eighth. Washington manager Frank Robinson then got tossed, too. A wild and whoolly night at Shea indeed.
The background orchestra to these theatrics were going boom,boom,boom with Carlos Delgado hitting his second homerun in two nights to give the Mets a 6-5 lead in the 5th.
And Beltran, hitless in his first nine at-bats of the season, crushed a two-run home run against Joey Eischen in the 7th but then had to be coaxed out of the dugout for a Shea standing O, perhaps bitter over the shabby treatment he's received already this season.
"Put it this way: I'm a friend not only when you're doing well, I'm a friend when you're not doing so well," Beltran said of the fair-weather friendship some Mets fans appear to have with him.
He pointed out that he appreciated the way Mets fans supported the team even though they fell short of making the playoffs last year.
But, he said, "I do believe they can be better."
Uh oh. Is this singing from the pages of Cliff Floyd's hymnal on hypersensitivity to Shea booing?
In addition to the dingers by Delgado and Beltran, Jose Reyes drove in two runs, scored twice and finished with three hits on the night. David Wright went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs and an RBI. Cliff Floyd and Lo Duca had two hits apiece and overall, the Mets battered Nat pitching for 15 hits, 5 of which went for extra bases. Even Pedro had an RBI single for gawd's sake.
Even the bullpen improved as Duaner Sanchez and Chad Bradford combined to throw 3 shutout innings and six strikeouts to preserve the victory, giving Jorge Julio and Sandman Wagner the night off.
The Mets outscored the Nats 22-12 over the course of the series.
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2 comments:
I recognized the bat-throwing picture solely on the basis of that frightened looking girl holding... something... like a cat. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see her again; she is beautiful.
Indeed Kyle, what IS that thing in her hand? A baseball glove? A "Knacks" album featuring the horrific hit "My Sharona" she is getting ready to wing at Mr Guillen? The deflated head of a Mr Guillen blow up doll? And what about the oriental kid sitting next to her? Is that a baseball bat in his hand? And for that matter why are so many kids sitting so close to the dugout? How did they get such good seats?
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