Ok, maybe a punch to the head.
Ok, so the Mets couldn't hold a 3-0 lead but jaysus, Feliciano put it out of reach with a pair of homers surrendered in the 10th on Sunday because for christ only knows what reason, Luis Ayala, the one guy to date who has demonstrated some consistency getting outs out of the bullpen, leaves the game after three up three down.
Deliver defeat from the jaws of victory, thanks again. However, the look of disgust on Jerry Manuel's face almost makes up for the idiotic removal of Ayala.
Find the hot hand, that's what Mr Manuel said, post-loss.
So the only hot hand is found in Ayala and discarded for the abusive Feliciano.
Of course, this is a two-game tailspin which, on the heels of a nice stretch of good baseball, is probably to be expected. No team stays hot forever.
But this game's turning point, bullpen's chicanery asidde, was the Mets' failure to do more with the bases loaded in the 3rd. Mark Loretta's ridiculous catch didn't help but nor did Carlos Delgado's childish pop up after they'd walked the bases full to face him.
But what the hell, not the end of the world. A few losses here, the shattered bullpen there. Lack of timely hitting, less than spectacular starting pitching...
Arm hanging on a limb?
It was bound to happen.
Just like Heilman's absurdist performance in the 7th - four straight competent appearances were bound to end in tatters eventually.
More worrisome is the Phillies looking like their 2nd half bat slumber is nearing an end. Last night's walk off homer narrowed the lead to a half game.
Tonight, Pelfrey will try to save this series, the NL East lead and well, the ebbing flow of momentum.
And just as easily as the drunken euphoria of invincibility arrived, well, it's pulling out of the station.
Relying on Brett Myers to meltdown against the Dodgers might just not be enough.
Still, that's why they play the games, isn't it? To see which bullpen cancer will metastize into another grueling Met loss.
Good luck with that hunt for the hot hand, Jerry. You'll need it.
Especially now that Doom Is On The Doorstep
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7 comments:
You like to look at the bright side, jaap. Consider this: Lidge has not blown a save all year. He might have 2 or 3 in his hip pocket for September. The question is, will our bullpen see that and raise him a couple? I never thought much of Feliciano. Too much good followed immediately by bad. But I officially hate Heilman.
Jerry keeps talking about playing the hot hand, and then proceeds to give the ball to the gnarled, useless hands.
It's all i can do not to dream of the day we're free of Errant, Pedreadful, and Shownblow. We have the science. We know they can't get the job done.
Lets be fair, here. Aaron was terrible, Pedro was awful, but Scott, Luis and Joe were OK, by my recollection.
I also remember Duaner coming in at one point but when that happened I covered my eyes and ran out of the room, so I don't know how he did.
I really really really hate Heilman. Why does he wear baseball pants that are too tight for him. How can he pitch in them? Whoops! He can't. My mistake. I have hated him since Yadier Molina Day in 2006. Mr. Gutless. And nothing has changed. This is like Feliciano's third go round with this team. He has no fastball. Why does he ever throw it? Scheonweiss has no stuff. I have said that before. Absolutely no stuff. And we haven't even talked about Duaner Sanchez and his in season weight gains and complete dedication to being out of shape. Fact is, when Jerry Manuel says Sanchez's leg bruise has kept him from his conditioning workouts that is bull. He is telling us that Sanchez is not doing his part. If this guy has a bad leg he would not be in there in the 8th and 9th inning of close games. This guy has a history of weight gain and poor work ethic.
well jdon, that's a beautiful thought about Mr Lidge. Like the injured hillbilly before him, he'll probably end up being a billionaire choke artist for the Mets one day: Astros to Phillies to Mets. Billy haWaganeer. He'll probably save his blown saves for then.
IMFM - this is all part of Jerry's masterplan, clearly. He looks for the hot hand as a teaser. Get me thre outs when they least matter, he says. Then he puts the cold hand in the bed. Like a sexual sadist in a way. A soft warm touch from the hand that has been in the pants all evening followed by the cold hard touch of the one that has been the freezer all morning. He was fired by the White Sox for a reason, you know.
I dunno katherine, I had my eyes closed the whole time after Perez left. They were probably shut even whilst Perez pitched, but that's just habit. One of these days I'll remember he's pitching for a multi-billion dollar Scott Boras contract.
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