Franco. Benitez. Looper. Wagner.
(Note: Sip's written a piece of his own about last night's debacle, today's USA-Ghana match, and the firing of Larry Brown. See below for more.)
They say misery loves company, so in that spirit I decided to read what I had written on Nov. 29, 2005, the day after the Mets locked up Billy Wagner for the next 4 years (link is available by clicking on the title above).
I entitled that piece "Closing the Book on 15 Years of Futility". Re-reading it brings back a lot of memories.
The memory of losing $170 to Sip's friend Joel in a 30-minute time span.
The memory of Jay Feely missing field goal after field goal in that game against the Seattle Seahawks, and of Jeremy Shockey showboating for the crowd just a little too soon.
But most of all the feeling of excitement that came with the idea that the Mets had finally found the answer to the back-of-bullpen woes that had surrounded the team and its fanbase for a decade and a half.
Needless to say, the excitement was premature.
The dejected trudge off the field that was immortalized by John Franco, Armando Benitez, and Braden Looper all those years has been on full display this year. In case you missed it any of the other four times, it was on full display yesterday as Wagner blew his 5th save of the season.
It pisses me off that the Mets lost a game they should have won. Through 8.2 innings, last night was pretty much perfect.
My buddy Mr. Glass hit for the cycle, electrifying the stadium with every step.
Jose Valentin continued his resurgence (remember when this guy was so bad that there were websites devoted to lampooning his very existence?)
Aaron Heilman looked sharp, and then, through the first 2 batters, so did Wagner. And then something weird happened. Wagner, Carlos Delgado, and Ramon Castro had a little conference on the mound.
Maybe they were just talking about how to approach Austin Kearns, but the whole thing struck me as odd when it happened. I mean, he had just cruised through the first two batters of the inning, was counseling really necessary?
But whatever, it's not important.
What's important is Wagner blew the save. Again.
What's important is that the Mets lost a game they should have won.
What's important is that all the good vibes that would have emanated from a 5-4 win were erased by a 6-5 loss.
And what's most important of all, Billy Wagner has now solidified his place as another one of those Mets closers.
One of those Mets closers you just don't have complete confidence in when he enters the game. One of those Mets closers you're certain will blow it until he doesn't.
For a long time I wondered if it was just a residual kind of panic I associate with 9th innings in close games the Mets are winning, but it's more than paranoia now.
The guy just hasn't gotten the job done. He's shown every sign of being a classic Mets closer. Makes your stomach turn pretty much from the get-go (his blown save in the second game). Blows it in a big spot against the Yankees (not a save situation, but the May 20th meltdown sure as hell counts in my book). Wildness at inopportune times (last night).
These symptoms define the Franco-Benitez-Looper triumvirate, and now, in spite of the optimism I felt on November 29, so do they define Wagner.
"But Wagner’s a cut above any of those guys," I wrote on Nov. 29. "He’s a different kind of closer. He’s the kind who enters the game and throws the ball 100 mph and, in the words of Roger Dorn, can 'strike this motherfucker out'. He’s an intimidator. He enters the game, the other team does not expect to win. They can’t help but think that the game is over."
That aura is gone for Billy Wagner. I'd like to tell myself that I'm just being overdramatic, but that's not it. I might feel confident with him in the game, but I'll never feel certain. And it's certainty that we're paying $43 million for.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still much rather have Wagner than any of those other three, but still, fuck.
- A.F.O.M.G.
P.S. With Beltran on first in the bottom of the ninth, the Reds put the shift on for Carlos Delgado.
I'm normally supportive enough of his refusal to go the other way, but it was inexcusable that he couldn't hit the ball to left field in that situation.
The Reds were literally giving him 80-85 feet between third base and where the third baseman was playing. There is no exaggeration there at all -- watch the replay if you like. I understand he's a guy who can win the game with one swing, but a hit to left gives you 1st and 2nd no one out at the worst.
But no. Swing for extra bases. Swing for the fences. Swing at ball 4. Thanks for playing. Ugh.
They say misery loves company, so in that spirit I decided to read what I had written on Nov. 29, 2005, the day after the Mets locked up Billy Wagner for the next 4 years (link is available by clicking on the title above).
I entitled that piece "Closing the Book on 15 Years of Futility". Re-reading it brings back a lot of memories.
The memory of losing $170 to Sip's friend Joel in a 30-minute time span.
The memory of Jay Feely missing field goal after field goal in that game against the Seattle Seahawks, and of Jeremy Shockey showboating for the crowd just a little too soon.
But most of all the feeling of excitement that came with the idea that the Mets had finally found the answer to the back-of-bullpen woes that had surrounded the team and its fanbase for a decade and a half.
Needless to say, the excitement was premature.
The dejected trudge off the field that was immortalized by John Franco, Armando Benitez, and Braden Looper all those years has been on full display this year. In case you missed it any of the other four times, it was on full display yesterday as Wagner blew his 5th save of the season.
It pisses me off that the Mets lost a game they should have won. Through 8.2 innings, last night was pretty much perfect.
My buddy Mr. Glass hit for the cycle, electrifying the stadium with every step.
Jose Valentin continued his resurgence (remember when this guy was so bad that there were websites devoted to lampooning his very existence?)
Aaron Heilman looked sharp, and then, through the first 2 batters, so did Wagner. And then something weird happened. Wagner, Carlos Delgado, and Ramon Castro had a little conference on the mound.
Maybe they were just talking about how to approach Austin Kearns, but the whole thing struck me as odd when it happened. I mean, he had just cruised through the first two batters of the inning, was counseling really necessary?
But whatever, it's not important.
What's important is Wagner blew the save. Again.
What's important is that the Mets lost a game they should have won.
What's important is that all the good vibes that would have emanated from a 5-4 win were erased by a 6-5 loss.
And what's most important of all, Billy Wagner has now solidified his place as another one of those Mets closers.
One of those Mets closers you just don't have complete confidence in when he enters the game. One of those Mets closers you're certain will blow it until he doesn't.
For a long time I wondered if it was just a residual kind of panic I associate with 9th innings in close games the Mets are winning, but it's more than paranoia now.
The guy just hasn't gotten the job done. He's shown every sign of being a classic Mets closer. Makes your stomach turn pretty much from the get-go (his blown save in the second game). Blows it in a big spot against the Yankees (not a save situation, but the May 20th meltdown sure as hell counts in my book). Wildness at inopportune times (last night).
These symptoms define the Franco-Benitez-Looper triumvirate, and now, in spite of the optimism I felt on November 29, so do they define Wagner.
"But Wagner’s a cut above any of those guys," I wrote on Nov. 29. "He’s a different kind of closer. He’s the kind who enters the game and throws the ball 100 mph and, in the words of Roger Dorn, can 'strike this motherfucker out'. He’s an intimidator. He enters the game, the other team does not expect to win. They can’t help but think that the game is over."
That aura is gone for Billy Wagner. I'd like to tell myself that I'm just being overdramatic, but that's not it. I might feel confident with him in the game, but I'll never feel certain. And it's certainty that we're paying $43 million for.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still much rather have Wagner than any of those other three, but still, fuck.
- A.F.O.M.G.
P.S. With Beltran on first in the bottom of the ninth, the Reds put the shift on for Carlos Delgado.
I'm normally supportive enough of his refusal to go the other way, but it was inexcusable that he couldn't hit the ball to left field in that situation.
The Reds were literally giving him 80-85 feet between third base and where the third baseman was playing. There is no exaggeration there at all -- watch the replay if you like. I understand he's a guy who can win the game with one swing, but a hit to left gives you 1st and 2nd no one out at the worst.
But no. Swing for extra bases. Swing for the fences. Swing at ball 4. Thanks for playing. Ugh.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 1:00 PM
5 Comments:
I still have confidence in Wagner, though I can understand your concern.
The one thing that was absolutely spot-on was Delgado refusing to deal with the shift. Even lay down a freakin' bunt.
It's not simply as easy as saying go the other way. He hits line drives, when he misses he hits fly balls.
If you want him to bunt, fine, that's one thing that he probably should do, but it's not like he can just lay down grounders to third on command like he's playing pool against major league pitchers. It's a classic gripe of fans (annoying Red Sox fans say the same thing about David Ortiz) If it were that easy, players would do it. They're not that stubborn.
For all those watching on gamecast, Reyes just went from first to third on a groundout to third.
It's like it's little league!
That was one of the best plays I've ever seen.
is it safe to say that Wagner has been our worst reliever in 06? think about it...who has stunk 5(at least) times(considering he only is asked to pitch 1 and 1/3 innings at most typically) not Heilman, not sanchez, not Oliver, not Bradford, not Feliciano?, Bell has not pitched enough but i bet his % of asscheekism is lower than mr wagner....please corect me if i am wrong.
1. I remember reading an article years ago about the young John Olerud's batting practice routine: ten liners to left, ten liners to center, ten liners to right. Every time. At will. Granted, hitting in a major league game ain't the same thing as BP, but one of the hallmarks of the really great athletes is that they are constantly adding to their games. Since we know Delgado can handle the bat, it follows that he could learn to go the other way, break the shift, and then think how much more effective his preferred stroke would be. Why fight it?
2. After watching Billy Wagner pitch, in his own words, "like crap," (post-game interview on SNY), we all felt like crap last night, woke up feeling like crap this morning - so I think you have to admire the resiliency of the team for bouncing back strong and not playing like crap this afternoon. They seem to shake it off better than the fans do, so, in the immortal words of Bill Murray, we got that going for us, which is nice. Something to feel a little better about since our closer so far isn't looking quite like forty-three million bucks worth of ballplayer out there. But the other thing to feel some hope about is that his fastball sure as hell was live last night. Just not on target. Has he tried the Rick Vaughn eyeglasses?
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