On Second Thought, Hang on to Those Rolaids
Tell me you didn't have flashbacks last night. Tell me you weren't screaming at the television, pacing, clenching your hands in prayer/supplication.
Anyone who tells you they knew the Mets had this one in the bag is lying to you. Two days after all the plaudits that came with their effectiveness in game 1, the bullpen sure looked shaky last night; nobody more so than Francisco Rodriguez at the end.
It was a nauseating few innings as the Reds chipped away runs against a succession of Met relievers, but say this about the bullpen: they bent, yes, but they did not break. They made you want to take some Rolaids, but they did not make you want to take your life.
To a man, each member of the bullpen I saw interviewed after Monday's game that there would be stumbles, but if nothing else, it was encouraging to see us stumble but not fall. I think a much more desirable kind of confidence develops when your bullpen comes in and slams the door, but the bullpen still has a chance to inspire that type of confidence.
What they showed last night inspires a different type of confidence. They showed last night that they can be shitty as all hell and get away with it. And that counts for something too.
In fairness, Bobby Parnell looked pretty good, and some better glovework from Delgado might have saved us all a lot of heartache. Even Pedro Feliciano looked pretty good, I thought, even if his line looks the worst in the box score.
The bullpen wasn't the only story last night. Even if he gave runs back with his shoddy footwork at first, Delgado seems to be answering the doubters with his bat in the earlygoing. The rest of the lineup did their part as well.
But the really interesting part of last night was watching Mike Pelfrey. The Pelf Man looked incredibly bad that first inning, but to his credit he really settled in afterward and he kept a lid on the damage.
All in all, it was a pretty ugly game for the good guys, but say this: it would have been pretty 2008 of us to have blown a win, leading 9-4, on the same day the Phillies pulled off an improbable 12-11 victory after trailing 10-3 in the 7th.
The Phillies showed us they've still got that tenacity yesterday. Last night I like to think we showed we have a little tenacity of our own.
- A.F.O.M.G.
Anyone who tells you they knew the Mets had this one in the bag is lying to you. Two days after all the plaudits that came with their effectiveness in game 1, the bullpen sure looked shaky last night; nobody more so than Francisco Rodriguez at the end.
It was a nauseating few innings as the Reds chipped away runs against a succession of Met relievers, but say this about the bullpen: they bent, yes, but they did not break. They made you want to take some Rolaids, but they did not make you want to take your life.To a man, each member of the bullpen I saw interviewed after Monday's game that there would be stumbles, but if nothing else, it was encouraging to see us stumble but not fall. I think a much more desirable kind of confidence develops when your bullpen comes in and slams the door, but the bullpen still has a chance to inspire that type of confidence.
What they showed last night inspires a different type of confidence. They showed last night that they can be shitty as all hell and get away with it. And that counts for something too.
In fairness, Bobby Parnell looked pretty good, and some better glovework from Delgado might have saved us all a lot of heartache. Even Pedro Feliciano looked pretty good, I thought, even if his line looks the worst in the box score.
The bullpen wasn't the only story last night. Even if he gave runs back with his shoddy footwork at first, Delgado seems to be answering the doubters with his bat in the earlygoing. The rest of the lineup did their part as well.
But the really interesting part of last night was watching Mike Pelfrey. The Pelf Man looked incredibly bad that first inning, but to his credit he really settled in afterward and he kept a lid on the damage.
All in all, it was a pretty ugly game for the good guys, but say this: it would have been pretty 2008 of us to have blown a win, leading 9-4, on the same day the Phillies pulled off an improbable 12-11 victory after trailing 10-3 in the 7th.
The Phillies showed us they've still got that tenacity yesterday. Last night I like to think we showed we have a little tenacity of our own.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 9:43 AM
1 Comments:
Well, I'd disagree a bit here. The bullpen in 2008 for instance, was pretty nice in April. If you recall, Wagner pitched something like 10 innings without giving up a hit.
Was good to see them get it done amidst problems, errors, and capitalize on mistakes though.
Also, the only thing the Phillies proved is that they are really good at capitalizing on things when it's handed to them. 4 bases loaded walks.
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