Can't Slow Down
It was a tale of three bullpens for the Glass Man on Sunday. In the afternoon I watched Aaron Heilman falter and Pedro Feliciano implode in the Mets' second straight loss to our official 2008 bedevilers, the Houston Astros.
In the evening it Jonathan Broxton's turn to muck things up, looking horrible from the start en route to blowing the save against the never-say-die Phillies, who won it in the 11th on a 3-run home run. Philly scored all 5 of its runs with 2 outs.
I've written about my fear of the Phillies before. It's not that they have Chase Utley or Ryan Howard or Cole Hamels, it's that no matter the circumstances, they never quit. They keep coming at you and coming at you.
If the Mets are going to outlast the Phillies this September, they can't slow down. This weekend brought the first signs of a slowdown in about a month, but I don't want to blow it out of proportion. They've lost 2 straight; shit happens.
That said, I would be very disappointed if we went in to Philly tomorrow in second place, riding a 3-game losing streak. The "are the Mets collapsing" storyline is at everyone's fingertips, and there'd be nothing like riding a skid into a late-season series at Philadelphia to open the floodgates.
So tonight we turn it over to Mike Pelfrey. In this breakout season for the Pelf Man, I've been interested in watching him pass three tests. One was how he would respond to adversity after enjoying his first run of sustained success in the big leagues. Test passed; he's had bad outings and come out looking dominant again.
The other two remain to be seen. One is whether he's ready to take the ball and pitch the Mets to big wins when they need them. He hasn't really had that chance yet, but tonight he does. A strong outing tonight would be a big boost for the team.
The last test is just to see how he'll hold up in the heat of a September pennant race. No choice there but to stay tuned.
As for me, it's the last day of my late summer vacation so I'm off to enjoy it until 7:10, when, you know, it's time to get back down to business.
- A.F.O.M.G.
In the evening it Jonathan Broxton's turn to muck things up, looking horrible from the start en route to blowing the save against the never-say-die Phillies, who won it in the 11th on a 3-run home run. Philly scored all 5 of its runs with 2 outs.
I've written about my fear of the Phillies before. It's not that they have Chase Utley or Ryan Howard or Cole Hamels, it's that no matter the circumstances, they never quit. They keep coming at you and coming at you.
If the Mets are going to outlast the Phillies this September, they can't slow down. This weekend brought the first signs of a slowdown in about a month, but I don't want to blow it out of proportion. They've lost 2 straight; shit happens.
That said, I would be very disappointed if we went in to Philly tomorrow in second place, riding a 3-game losing streak. The "are the Mets collapsing" storyline is at everyone's fingertips, and there'd be nothing like riding a skid into a late-season series at Philadelphia to open the floodgates.
So tonight we turn it over to Mike Pelfrey. In this breakout season for the Pelf Man, I've been interested in watching him pass three tests. One was how he would respond to adversity after enjoying his first run of sustained success in the big leagues. Test passed; he's had bad outings and come out looking dominant again.
The other two remain to be seen. One is whether he's ready to take the ball and pitch the Mets to big wins when they need them. He hasn't really had that chance yet, but tonight he does. A strong outing tonight would be a big boost for the team.
The last test is just to see how he'll hold up in the heat of a September pennant race. No choice there but to stay tuned.
As for me, it's the last day of my late summer vacation so I'm off to enjoy it until 7:10, when, you know, it's time to get back down to business.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 1:26 PM
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