Listen. Every so often a starting pitcher is going to go out there and simply not have it. That was indeed the case with Livan Hernandez last night. His line of 3 IP, 10H, 7R was god awful and by far the worst performance he has put forth since joining the Mets. The guy has been a horse and a hard luck loser all year for the Mets and one bad start against a potent offensive team is excusable.
"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!!"
What is utterly inexcusable are the two mental blunders the Mets made in the field. In case you didn’t see the game, let me summarize the set of brain locks:
- Runners on second and third and Jimmy Rollins shot a line drive up the middle. Pedro Feliz and Paul Bako came in to score the 6th and 7th Phillies runs. Ryan Church fielded the ball in center and did not attempt a throw to home plate to try and get Bako, but also did not attempt a throw second base either. The reason? Nobody was covering the base and Rollins took advantage, rumbling in standing up while second baseman Fernando Tatis just stood and watched. I’ll give Tatis this, he has played 2B only a handful of times in his career, but this even a 10-year old Little Leaguer knows what base to cover. It is simply mind blowing the lack of fundamentals the Mets have showcased this year
- With the score 7-2 in the top of the 8th, Shane Victorino hit a chopper over the mound. David Wright fielded it and threw it on the run toward Daniel Murphy at first. Murphy essentially whiffed on the attempted catch and the ball squirted behind him and behind the bag. It is bad enough a major league player barely gets his glove on a throw that is right to him. It is 10 times worse that nobody decided to go retrieve the ball and just watched Victorino turn the corner and take second base. Where the heck was Brian Schneider. He should have been backing up first. What the heck was Murphy doing just staring at the ball. As Gary Cohen said on the SNY broadcast: ”That’s just dreadful, just dreadful. Second time tonight complete inattention has cost the Mets a base.”
I know I’ve harped on the fact that this team is so injury depleted that the expectations for continued success should be kept to a minimum. But it is almost to the point where the entire team is getting difficult to root for because of the mental gaffes they make
seemingly every game.
Give me back Ventura, Ordonez, Alfonzo and Olerud of the 1999 squad. Play some D, win some games. That was one enjoyable formula to root for. Not this horror show.
Call to the Pen
FanSided
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Adam,
Let me preface my comments with a concession to this injury riddled team: If two injured players return and there is no change in the way this team plays Manual and Minaya will be gone. They must make the playoffs to retain their jobs. I can’t imagine anyones return changing the lacksadasical demeanor of this team.
Your examples just bear out my previous comment. This team, from top to bottom, needs to be restructured. From Omar and his disastrous signing of Perez, to Manual continuing to intone “these guys are professional and know what they did wrong” or something like that. What he says in the locker room, maybe you know. But on the surface there are NO consequences for poor play. This has been going on for more years than i care to remember. In reality, it may start with the Wilpons, who refuse to answer for their pathetic team. So we may just have to wait until they sell the Mets. Maybe we could get together a million or so fans putting up $1000 each and buy the team for a billion dollars.