21.8.06

El Duque In Post Season Form

Naturally with a double digit lead in their division, a 2-0 victory to complete a late season sweep over the lowly Colorado Rockies is hardly nerve-shattering news.

What is nerve-shattering news is Tom Glavine's potential blood clot.


Coldness in the finger of throwing hand is sufficient to stifle our delusions of grandeur.

We won't know until later this week what affect this will have on the Mets' postseason. The possibilities are said to range from undergoing an angiogram and seeing that this is just an isolated incident and there is no problem OR he might need surgery which would finish him for the year.

With Pedro already on the DL this means the Mets' postseason could be over almost as fast as the NL East race was this season. Steve Trachsel, in theory anyway, might become the de facto number one starter, hardly meant to strike fear in the hearts of opponents.

Not surprisingly in the light of the news the Mets countered with the announcement that they'd somehow gotten ahold of former Met and Piazza-hater, Guillermo Moto to reinforce the bullpen. Mota was 1-3 with a 6.21 E.R.A. in 34 games this season with the Cleveland Indians but didn't start any games in place of Tom Glavine.


Mota and Piazza in days of yore.

Duque pitched 6 scoreless innings giving up only 5 hits and striking out 8. That makes him 6-1 since July and notwithstanding that embarassing outing against the Phillies recently, the best starter outside of John Maine remaining in the Mets rotation.


Going, going....gone

Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltrán hit home runs, and Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st save. All the superstars accounted for.

Maine (3-3, 2.68 ERA) makes his ninth start of the season as the Mets host the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Jeff Weaver (2-3, 5.54 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals.

Maine has gone six straight starts without a loss.

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