CHAT ROOM
Fortunately for the Mets, they have Johan Santana (7-2, 1.77 ERA) going for them. Santana is coming off a season-high six-walk performance, but with 11 strikeouts in a win over Washington.
Here’s tonight’s line-up:
Luis Castillo, 2B
Fernando Martinez, LF
David Wright, 3B
Gary Sheffield, RF
Fernando Tatis, 1B
Omir Santos, C
Ramon Martinez, SS
Jeremy Reed, CF
Johan Santana, P
PUTZ: What's wrong?
I’ve called the Mets a flawed team, and such was the case against the Pirates. The offense called it a game after the third inning and JJ Putz imploded in the eighth. Jerry Manuel didn’t help matters when he let the struggling Putz stay in after two or three hitters. It was obvious he wasn’t going to find the switch.
I wrote prior to the game that it was encouraging for the role players to step up and Reed and Valdez did that. However, role players are role players for a reason and the Mets need the return of their core big time.
We might not see Carlos Delgado this year and Jose Reyes is on the horizon. David Wright continues to slump, Carlos Beltran missed another game and there’s Putz.
The guy isn’t right. He needs to be looked at again and if something is wrong then go on the DL. He’s not doing anybody any good the way he is now.
Until Putz gets it together, Bobby Parnell should assume the eighth inning role as the bridge to Francisco Rodriguez.
It’s almost noon on the East Coast. Most of the Mets are probably snoozing right about now after their red eye flight from LA. I know most of you are thinking they’ve been snoozing the last three days against the Dodgers.
I take four positive things from the last three days, but two of them are tempered:
1) Daniel Murphy seems comfortable at first base after the horror show that was left field. His bat, however, needs to come around again. I believe Murphy will get through this, so right now he’s gone down on my worry meter.
2) Tim Redding came back with a strong effort Monday night. It’s a good sign. Better, of course, than if he were bombed. But, he has to keep doing it.
3) I was encouraged by Livan Hernandez’s strong outing last night in the terms of innings. Still, he’s a question because you can’t rely on him every fifth day to give you what he gave them last night.
4) David Wright continues to hit as is Carlos Beltran. They are the only players performing to their capabilities offensively.
All that being said, there are more than enough areas of concern for the Mets, beginning with the leg injury to Jose Reyes. He reinjured his calf last night after missing five games and his availability for the Boston series is questionable. Ramon Martinez and Fernando Tatis aren’t the answers, which gives you an indication of how much they miss Alex Cora. The injuries to Reyes and Carlos Delgado are emblematic of the franchise’s lack of depth in the minor league system.
What else is going wrong?
* I have no idea what to get from start to start from John Maine and Mike Pelfrey is becoming a source of concern also. These are your Nos. 2 and 3 starters and they take the ball every fifth day more as question marks than exclamation points.
* Luis Castillo has returned to earth following a fast start. His range is limited and he’s in an offensive funk. Also struggling offensively is Tatis, especially with runners in scoring position.
* JJ Putz has not been as good as advertised.
* Ryan Church used to be a doubles machine but he’s not driving the ball anymore. He’s of little value as a singles hitter.
* Collectively, the offense has packed it in the last four games and they face three good arms in Fenway. This is not the weekend that screams breakout.
* The defense has been spotty, something you can’t afford with spotty starting pitching and a comatose offense.
CHAT ROOM
There’s promise with Mike Pelfrey and John Maine, but there can be no assumptions with either. Livan Hernandez is good for five only, which taxes the bullpen. Oliver Perez? Well, so far he hasn’t been good for anything, and there’s no promise he’ll ever snap out of it.
The Mets won three of their first four games on this trip, but there remain flaws with this team. The pitching match-ups in the Dodgers series favors Los Angeles, and from there the team heads to Boston for three. This isn’t a critical stretch, but it is very important as they go head-to-head with playoff caliber teams. The Mets will be tested over the next six games and their flaws will be revealed.
PEREZ: Get it done.
You would think with less than three weeks before spring training there would be a market for a 27-year-old lefthander who throws heat.
There’s not.
If Oliver Perez were to get five years as agent Scott Boras wants, he would have gotten them by now. A combination of Perez’s wildness, his agent, and perhaps the prevailing thought he’d always wind up with the Mets is keeping teams at bay.
C’mon, let’s cut through the smoke. Give him three years at $12 million each with an option for a fourth year, and get this thing done.
I spoke with Boras this summer when the Mets were in LA and remember him telling me Perez wasn’t erratic. I didn’t believe him then and I don’t believe him now. If Boras really had that much faith in his client, he’d take two years and jump at the chance to do this again when Perez is 29.
Why do you think he hasn’t?