How appropriate that tonight's eighth-inning sing-a-long choice is Bon Jovi's epic, "Livin' On a Prayer?" It seems like the Mets' faithful already are standing on the ledge, hands pressed together, begging for some divine intervention here. Ladies and gentlemen, we're six games deep into the season, and look on the bright side -- you could be fans of the Tigers (0-7).
Where to begin. I guess with the not-so-happy recap, where the bullpen collapsed again and Carlos Delgado helped light the fuse with his errant throw off the right shoulder blade of Chase Utley. I know David Wright and Billy Wagner 
said there was nothing sinister about their inability to beat the Phillies, but NINE straight losses? Sorry, that's a trend, and it's up to Mike Pelfrey to try and reverse it tonight (7:10 p.m., SNY).
To make matters worse, the Mets' losses extend beyond the standings. Luis Castillo is doubtful for tonight's game after leaving yesterday in the fifth inning with right knee soreness. And it looks like Orlando Hernandez is bothered by his right foot again after returning to New York yesterday for more tests. Hernandez went reverted to a variation of his old windup at the end of spring training, and it could be that it's putting too much pressure on his back foot again. Either way, don't expect him to be activated from the disabled list anywhere near his eligible date of April 13.
Why would manager Willie Randolph rip Oliver Perez yesterday? I know his pitch count was up, and Perez left in the sixth inning, but it's not like the bullpen was wiped out. They had Monday off and Johan Santana gave them seven innings on Sunday. Maybe if Pedro Feliciano made it back from Puerto Rico on time, Randolph wouldn't have been so hard on Perez.
Comments (5)
I actually think Willie is starting to feel the heat...
I noticed he got his fair share of boos yesterday.
What is going on with Pedro Feliciano? There were opportunities for him to enter Tuesday's game versus lefties, but he wasn't out there.
Feliciano was given permission by the team to head home to Puerto Rico to attend to some family related matter. He was supposed to be on a 6am flight yesterday morning to return to NY, but his flight was cancelled. He apparently didn't make it to Shea until the 7th inning.
Willie spoke the truth. We are going to need more from Ollie than 5 2/3 innings. I wouldn't criticize Willie for doing his job. I'm sure he didn't single him out. He simply called him out. No problem for me. When you've got young starters like Ollie, Maine, and Pelf, they need to at least pitch into the 7th.
I'm still not panicking. Does that make me crazy?
Ollie Perez did not lose the game for us. Willie brought in Schoweinblow and the team has ZERO HEART !!!
ATL and PHILLY are FULL OF HEART. Clutch players that play with a chip on their shoulders.
Boooo the Mets out of the park tonight.
Omar gave us the same chokers as last year, and Willy simply cannot motivate or teach them.