Sigh… Another game that opens up a huge can of worms.
The Mets lost to the Cardinals tonight by a score of 4-3. Oliver Perez made arguably his best start since the final game of 2008, pitching 6 1/3 innings, striking out four, allowing one earned run (that scored after he departed).
The Mets got on the board first against Chris Carpenter when a Jeff Francoeur baserunning gaffe led to a run when Brendan Ryan threw the ball away in a rundown between home and third.
Oliver Perez held this lead, and allowed an infield single and a sacrifice and was then pulled. Fernando Nieve hit a batter on two strikes, walked pinch-hitter Matt Holliday after getting ahead 0-2, and was yanked for Raul Valdes, who allowed a grand slam to Felipe Lopez. The Mets rallied in the eighth, but Fernando Tatis was robbed on a lineout that would have scored at least one. The Mets scored two against Ryan Franklin, but Luis Castillo grounded out to short to end the game.
Jeff Francoeur was 2-3 with 2 runs, continuing his torrid hitting. He also walked in the game. Speaking of walks, David Wright continues to lead the league in walks with another tonight.
Jerry Manuel, frankly, should be fired tonight. I understand now that he could not use Feliciano due to sickness, but he went to a 32-year-old reliever on loan from the Mexican league against a guy (Lopez) with equal splits from both sides of the plate. The way this team makes decisions continues to baffle me. For example, Felipe Lopez, the hero of the night, makes $1MM more than Alex Cora. He’s also making half of Luis Castillo’s salary and is so far beyond those two in playing ability.
This organization screws up more than any other in sports. They may be the worst-run organization currently in existence…they have as many resources as any sports franchise needs and have managed to put together just one truly competitive team in the Omar Minaya era.
It’s too much. I’ve never felt this way about the Mets before. I’ve said I will never give up rooting for them. But it’s sheer disappointment that just wracks my heart. It’s unfair for them to disappoint fans who invest so much emotion (not to mention greenbacks) into the team.
Look for a more extensive post in the next few days on my train of thought on this subject.
