Saturday, May 20, 2006By Mike Steffanos
Quick turnaround between last night's game and this afternoon's game, so this will just be a fast down and dirty post this morning. Last night's game was a terrific win for the Mets. Put into a hole early by Jeremi Gonzalez' absolute ineffectiveness against the Yankees, the Mets dug themselves out by playing really good baseball. Since we didn't always see that on the 3-6 road trip that was a welcome site.
The news that the Mets designated Jose Lima for assignment was also welcome. I don't wish Lima anything bad, but I'm glad the Mets will not waste another start on a guy who no longer has the ability to get major league batters out consistently. The Mets are bringing up righty relief pitcher Anderson Hernandez -- a hard thrower acquired from the Yankees for Armando Benitez back when -- as a temporary measure, but a decision still hasn't been made on who will take the start next week. The way Gonzalez pitched last night the Mets have to be questioning if his days in Flushing are numbered, too.
Aaron Heilman accomplished two things last night; convincing us that he's most likely the best option to take a starting role, but also proving how valuable he is in the bullpen. The consensus on Mike Pelfrey seems to be that he's not ready, and will need to develop much more confidence in his secondary pitches before he'll be ready to be an effective starter. I could be Alay Soler, 4 years older and seemingly much more ready for the show. Apparently some trade options are also being considered.
That's for the future. For today, there is Pedro versus Mussina, and a chance for the Mets to win the game and the series. As sweet as it always is to beat the Yankees, it's important to stop the bleeding caused by dropping three consecutive series. Let's Go Mets!
ESPN Insider (Subscription required): Gammons on the Mets' Pitching Options
If you have an ESPN Insider subscription, Peter Gammons does a good job of breaking everything down.
Can't Stop The Bleeding: Francesa Sulks
I guess the big guy took last night's loss pretty hard, accusing the Mets announcers and David Wright of getting too carried away with last night's win. Eat it, buddy -- bite down hard... now swallow... How does it taste?
By the way, last year you accused the Mets fans of lacking a sense of humor when they objected to the celebration you and Russo had after Looper blew the opening day win. What happened to yours today?
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