11
2011
3 Up, 3 Down: The Not So Happy Homecoming Edition
An article by Gregg Hopps
The Mets hosted the Washington Nationals for Opening Weekend at Citi Field. I’m not sure what the deal was with the 4:10 start on Friday afternoon, but at least the Mets did a classy thing by having Ralph Kiner toss out the first pitch. The Nationals took the series 2-1 thanks mostly to a horrible, horrible bullpen. That said here are my 3 Up and 3 down from this series.
Three Up
1. Chris Young – On Sunday afternoon Chris Young pitched a great game. He went 7 innings giving up one run on one hit, striking out 5. Couple that with Young’s first outing in Philadelphia, and through two outings Young has pitched 12.1 innings giving up two earned runs! Let’s hope Young can keep up the good work. We may be seeing our new ace being born.
2. Carlos Beltran – Saturday night belonged to Carlos Beltran. Beltran had two home runs in his first two at bats Saturday, then a double on a ball that should have been caught by Jerry Hairston Jr.. A healthy and productive Carlos Beltran is just what the Mets need.
3. Jose Reyes – Reyes has been swinging a hot bat, reaching base in seven straight games. Even more encouraging Reyes is legging out infield hits. Of special note, on Sunday Reyes went from first to third on a ground out.
Three Down
1. The Imploding Bullpen – We all know the adage “oh those bases on balls”, and boy oh boy, those walks are just killing the Mets bullpen. On Sunday after Young worked 7 awesome innings Carrasco, Buchholz and Boyer were just disasters. There are a bunch of new guys out in the Mets bullpen this season. Dan Warthen did an incredible job with the pitching staff last year, let’s just hope that as the season goes on, the bullpen improves under Warthen’s guidance.
2. Dickey’s Split Fingernail – On Friday R.A. Dickey was not able to control his knuckler. Dickey had a career high in walks. It was learned after the game that R.A. Dickey had a split fingernail which occurred in the first inning. Hopefully R.A. will be ready to go this week against the Rockies.
3. Too Many Strikeouts – The Mets offense has just been striking out and not getting the job done way too often. Seventeen strikeouts in Sunday’s game… Seventeen! We all know how destructive the strikeouts can be, but jeez, these guys need to know when to shorten up or adjust their swings. Way, way, way too many strikeouts.
About the Author: Gregg Hopps
Gregg lives on Long Island, and has been a Mets fan since Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose slugged it out in the 1973 playoffs. "Keith Hernandez is the best defensive first baseman to ever have played baseball."
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 6.5 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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We’re a 4th place team. Mets/Marlins/Nationals all three are very similar comparable teams. The real race I am concentrating on is the race for 3rd place in the Naitonal League eastern division between the Mets, Nationals and Marlins.. should be a doosey!
I’d like to think that over the next 3-5yrs the Mets can solidify their hold on 3rd place. Something to shoot for! Lets Go Mets!
You can think you are equal to Marlins and Nats but you, like most little Metsies are delusional.. Marlins and Nats filled with lots of kids who will rise sooner rather than later. Mets have a old fogey manager and roidal lovin GM who have already shown they can’t stand he kids. Duda not playing because they have to play two career losers like Hairston and Harris and the Thole platooned with a career AA not even AAA catcher. Your Mets will suck for years to come while the others will improve
happy little mets fans dont think your a fan at all. they will turn it around and do what other teams are doing just wont happend this year or the next. remember teh team we have now is do to the fact that money is the biggest issue we were unloading salary and we will continue to do so next year. so change your name my little pantees fan.
I’m thinking that in 3-5yrs the Mets will be contending again for the Divisional title.
I do think the Nationals are a team to watch in upcoming years but long term.. the Nationals will be on a 5 yr. Boom and Bust! cycle.. as they develop talent but have limited resources to secure the talent long term.
Sunday, with Reyes on third, Pagan grounds out to first to end the 10th inning. What bothered me was that Pagan gave up on the play and jogged down the line. If he hustles it’s a close play, or he just might make the first baseman rush or take his eye off the ball and boot it. I thought Collins and Alderson were going to instill hustle to this team?
Bro, great point, I saw that too, and wondered the exact same thing, why is Pagan busting it down the line. A botched catch, a bad throw. Terry wrote us a letter on April 1st promising they would run out every play. Great point!
Nice observation. It will be interesting to watch Pagen this year as he plays all year, day in and day out. I think there is a different mind set between being the 4th outfielder, being the guy filling in long term for a starter and then being THE GUY. Pagen is now “THE GUY.” I think Pagen could become a consistent .275avg 10-12 home run 33 stolen bases 80 runs scored guy. Certainly that’s not a bad thing but a superstar or even an ALL_Star it is not.
Think Lee Mazzilli in his prime with a much stronger arm.
What good is it for Jose to get on base, steals or not, if he is left on base.
With our track record Jose will cool off and then the heart of the lineup, not counting Harris or Hairston here, will start to hit but then there will not be a Jose on base or other until Pagan gets going. Hitting 6th is tough for Angel but he needs to start using his hands and go opposite field as he was doing on road trip with a HR.