Saturday, August 11, 2007By Mike Steffanos
Marlins 4 - Mets 3
Played Friday, August 10, 2007
I can't blame this one on Billy Wagner. He's been so good, and everyone slumps at some point of the season. I mentioned after his Houdini act in the win against the Braves that Wagner had allowed 7 hits and a walk in 4 IP in August, counting that game. Last night's blown save didn't come out of nowhere. I just hope there are no physical problems and he turns it around quick.
I have a lot of respect for the way Brian Lawrence has battled through his two starts, but I'm not sure I feel confident that he can beat good offensive teams who don't make the sort of mistakes the Marlins did last night. Then again, given what the Mets have received from the fifth starter slot in 2007, he's probably the best option right now. Too bad he lost the chance for a win.
| Brian Lawrence (1-0) | |||||||||||
| Date | Opp. | IP | R | ER | H | K | BB | HR | ERA | WHIP | Team Result |
| 8/2 | @MIL | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5.40 | 1.60 | W |
| 8/10 | FLA | 6 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | 1.83 | L |
| Season (2 Games) | 11 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4.09 | 1.73 | 1-1 | |
Since the team began to flounder in June we have been looking for evidence that they can sustain a streak of solid play. The road trip against the Brewers and Cubs was a really solid week's work, but they've followed it up by losing 3 of 4 at home. I don't consider myself overly pessimistic about their chances this season, but they simply have to prove they can play at a high level for more than a week or so, and have to avoid these dramatic fall backs.
It's clear that the team has taken a step back offensively this season, but they're better than they have played. The real culprit last night was an offense that once again couldn't get it done. Take away one swing of Beltran's bat and they would have been shut out last night.
There is still a lot of time to reestablish themselves as a playoff caliber team, but they have to come out every night with a strong effort. They almost sleepwalked into a win last night, but it didn't happen. There have been too many opportunities squandered this season, and they need to revert back to the type of consistent play we saw last year. Then maybe we can all feel really good about this team for more than a few days.
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