16
2012
Meija Struggles With Command In 9-6 Loss To The Brewers
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The Mets (66-79) lost to the Brewers (73-72) by the score of 9-6 on Saturday evening at Miller Park.
When you throw 68 pitches over 3+ innings of work and you struggle to find the strike zone, it is a definite recipe for disaster.
All eyes were on Jenrry Meija in Milwaukee, where he was making his first start in exactly two years – since injuring himself on this day in 2010. He struggled to throw strikes, actually throwing more balls than strikes (32:36 strike:ball ratio) and almost walked as many men as he allowed via the hit. His final line was 3+ IP, 6 H, 5 BB, and 5 ER. He did not achieve a strikeout.
Meija did pitch to four batters in the fourth before being removed. Two of those runs were allowed by Hefner, who inherited them and allowed them to cross the plate. All in all, the velocity was there and the confidence was not.
It is pretty hard to get on the offense after they score six runs – they really tried out there. A Duda RBI single led off the scoring for the Mets in the first, before they dropped a three spot in the fourth. That was a lot of fun to watch – because Meija pulled off a perfect squeeze with Valdespin dashing home from third. Ruben Tejada drove in a run right after and Daniel Murphy added a cue shot RBI 2B to top it off. The Mets would show some life in the ninth, beacuse of Ike Davis, who flashed some power with a 2-run shot.
It was a tough game overall to watch, but it was pretty much over from the five runs that scored in the fourth. I will give the offense some credit – because apparently hitting on the road is much easier for the Mets than hitting at home.
Notes
Daniel Murphy drilled three hits for a nice game and raised his average closer to .300, at .296.
Ike Davis also had three hits, with two of them being a 2B and a HR. Nice display of power.
On the front of minor stats, Valdespin picked up steal number nine (third base) and Shoppach made another throwing error. I will admit that I think Valdespin is a potential 20/20 guy with a .260 average or so. Future Brandon Phillips?
Up Next
Chris Young is scheduled to face off against Brewers top prospect Wily Peralta. 2:10 is the projected start. The Mets will look for a series win and to play spoiler, although I would rather play spoiler against the Phils.
About the Author: Satish Ram
I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.
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“It is pretty hard to get on the offense after they score six runs”
Agreed. On another note I was curious to see if KRod would hit Wright after Acosta hit I believe Ramirez if I remember correctly. Turned out he walked Wright instead.
It was KRod. He easily cold have been trying to hit him, and just kept missing his spot!
Mejia did not look at all good last night. And the #s were brutal.
Totally agree on Mejia, stick! It was painful to watch him pitch from the 1st inning onward.
In terms of the retaliation thing, I don’t think KRod has any ill-feelings towards the Mets and may even still appreciate guys like Wright. It seems DW is friendly with everyone in baseball, perhaps too much so.
I also think the Brewers may have felt Acosta was just erratic which led to Ramirez getting plunked. Last, keep in mind, that was his 12th[!] HBP.
Who knows what today will bring.
I’m ECSTATIC! The METS scored SIX , yes you heard me right SIX runs! When was the last time they scored six runs, maybe 140 innings ago. This is the highlight of my season. I thought my tv was on rewind when I saw Met after Met touch home plate. Oh we lost-at this point who the hell cares!
Jenrry Meija was bad, very bad. The kid might have been feeling the pressure of high expectations, but if that is the case, he won’t have that pressure in his next start. Stay tuned on Jenrry. We may have something special on the mound with him and then again, we may not.
Des, do you think we are trying to show case him for an off season trade. We are “rich” in pitching with Dickey, Harvey, Gee, Nieses, Familia, Young and other guys coming up. Could Meija be looked at as trade bait for an outfielder or relief help?
Met Fan Lou — I hadn’t thought of your idea of the Mets show casing Jenrry for an off season trade. If that was the intent, it fell flat on its face. The bottom has dropped out of the market with last night’s performance. He had no command. I feel sorry for the kid but he was a one game flop.
What concerns me about Jenrry is that he may be a pitcher who can’t claim any defined role. To me, he’s a high energy guy with a small frame (by today’s standards), and I doubt he’ll be able to survive long term as a starter. I hope he can but I’m really doubtful. I don’t know what his problem is being a reliever. Maybe he suffers from the Aaron Heilman syndrome — namely his ego tells him he’s better than being just a reliever yet his limited pitches say otherwise.
Have the Mets management screwed up Jenrry with the constant shifting of roles? I think so. Our front office and field managers have a history of it. They did it with Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church. Murphy has just recovered after some really stupid assignments. Let’s remember he was put in the outfield in the majors with a total experience of 11 putouts in the minors. Willie, Jerry and Omar screwed him up big time. Now Sandy and Terry may be doing the same to Jenrry. Let’s hope not.
What is the constant fascination with Mejia? The Mets have ruined him with the constant movement back and forth between starting and relieving. Has he actually shown anything in the minors to warrant a September callup this year? My expectations for his performance last night was just what we got – nothing to write home about. My opinion is that Mejia’s career is toast courtesy of mismanagement by the Mets. The comparison to Harvey is no comparison. SA was so slow and almost terrified to bring Harvey up because he was feared not to be mature enough to handle himself in the majors. Instead he is rock solid and one of our highlights for the future. Then they bring up Mejia when he is totally unprepared to pitch in the majors. There is no consistency or logic to such decisions. This is one player who I think will just drift away into obscurity. Too bad!!