This one will be very short and not so sweet…
The Mets fell to the Phillies Friday night in what once considered to be the biggest series of the season for the Mets back in June. Four games in three days against their number one nemesis in mid September. But alas, the only significance this series and all the other remaining series hold now, is to see if anybody emerges victoriously from early open tryouts for the 2010 season. Consider these games to be much like spring training games, as any able-bodied player who is still standing competes for a spot on the opening day roster. That’s what this season has come down to.
Nelson Figueroa got the start and he wasn’t that bad, but he wasn’t that good either. He allowed 15 base runners in just 5.1 innings, including two runs on nine hits and five walks and one hit batter. He did his best to keep the Mets in the game, so I’ll give him points for that. For Figgy, it’s his fourth solid, but unspectacular start in a row. His ERA now stands at 4.57.
The bullpen allowed two runs in 2.2 innings of relief with Elmer Dessens and Brian Stokes giving up a run each. Stokes who many believed would be a mainstay in the bullpen, has seen his ERA rise to 3.96.
The Mets scored two runs late and mustered up nine hits, with Jeff Francoeur accounting for three of those hits.
Aside from Jeff Francoeur who went 3 for 4, the Mets offered Figueroa no support offensively against Cole Hamels, who defeated the Mets for the first time since 2006. He is now batting .306 as a Met with 7 homers and 33 RBIs. Prorated over a full season, it would come to .306 – 22 – 100. In 22 games, Francoeur is batting .318 with 3 homers and 15 RBIs batting cleanup with a .523 slugging percentage. Obviously, Frenchy has cemented his spot as the Mets opening day rightfielder, regardless of the nonsense you may have read that he would be non-tendered.
That was about it offensively for the Mets as the top of the order (Pagan, Castillo, Wright) went 1-10. Pagan was hitless, ending his career high ten game hitting streak.
The Mets have a 4:00 PM start today and can be seen on Fox, where Howie Rose will join Tim McCarver in the booth. The young and erratic Mike Pelfrey will oppose the ageless Jaime Moyer.
