Into The Great Unknown

So I'm not going to expend a lot of energy talking about last night's game, or the Phillies series in general.

The reason is that I don't think any of the last three games are a good barometer of what the two teams can do. Tuesday night the Mets lost on an error. Wednesday night we won thanks to a series of Philadelphia errors. Last night we lost a rain-shortened game.

No use complaining about the loss yesterday. Rules are rules, and, yes, the timing was infuriating, but it might have just as easily bounced our way.

Give the Phillies credit: they played excellent defense, exceptional really, particularly Aaron Rowand's face-sacrificing grab against Xavier Nady, and through 4 and a half innings they deserved to win the game. The rules of baseball being what they are, that was good enough last night.

But it won't be good enough most of the other times we play them. For now, don't blow this series out of proportion. We might just as easily have won all three of those games.

The key for me is that we never looked overmatched the way we always did against the Braves in years past. We lost two out of three. Accept it. Move on.

Moving on may be the hardest part, however, as tonight begins a 2-game journey into the great unknown.

Read it and weep, Mets fans, your starters the next two games: Jose Lima and Jeremi Gonzalez. Ooh, boy.

I mean what can you say really? Injuries happen, we know that. I say, be thankful that the injuries happened to Victor Zambrano and Brian Bannister rather than Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine (I've knocked on wood 8 times since writing that sentence).

Moreover, you can be thankful that Bannister could be back in the rotation for next weekend's showdown with the Yankees, a pox be upon them.

I tend to think the Mets would prefer to exercise restraint and give Bannister a go in the minors before recalling him, but that will all depend on how Gonzalez fares tomorrow.

One way or another, this stretch right now is just something to be endured. It's unfortunate that these turns in the rotation come against capable teams like the Brewers, Cardinals, and Yankees, but there's no fixing it so chin up and soldier on.

If nothing else, Jose Lima is a very colorful personality on the mound, and so long as he's not being battered six ways to Sunday, he could make for an entertaining watch. Maybe his new cornrows will help.

For his part, Gonzalez has a good line in the minor leagues so far in 2006. He's 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA. Mets brass likes what it sees out of Gonzalez because he's managed to keep the ball in the yard, but don't be fooled here, this guy isn't a prospect.

Gonzalez is 31. His first season was 1997. His second was 1998. His third was 2003. His career numbers are bad. He is not a good pitcher. Doesn't mean he can't pull a gem out of his ass this weekend, but realize that's what it would take for him to shut down the Brew Crew.

One final word about the game yesterday: I am officially concerned about Steve Trachsel. I learned last night that coming into the game he had not retired a side in order in his previous two starts.

That number is now up to three.

Trachsel hasn't been altogether awful this year, but he's been worse than what you'd expect out of a No. 3 starter.

Opposing batters are hitting .303 against him. Their on-base percentage is .370. His WHIP is an unsightly 1.58. ERA 4.91. None of these numbers are good. They're all quite bad actually. The more that I think about it, maybe he has been altogether awful this year.

If this team is going to A) make the playoffs and B) go far into the playoffs, they're going to need something much more consistent and something much better from the third arm in the rotation.

Anyway, that's all I got. Be sure to check in this weekend as we just may have some content up for you.

- A.F.O.M.G.