It’s probably pointless to put my head in my hands and shake it vigorously at Mike Pelfrey’s performance today. For one, the Mets won the game despite it. And two, I’ve long since ended my standards of “ace” for Mike Pelfrey. He’s more like a five of clubs at this point, as in the clubs that are brought to the plate to mash Pelfrey “sinkers” into the gaps (or as in, “Pelfrey got clubbed by the … you get the idea). Besides, I’m the same guy who went up to Yankee fans and wondered how they can complain about A.J. Burnett after an 18-7 win. So how can I complain about Pelfrey after a 6-3 win over the Nationals, making it six out of eight to the good?
How about allowing ten batters to reach base while only retiring fourteen? That’s horrible for an ace. It’s bad for a five of clubs. It’s even bad for A.J. Burnett.
But part of the Mets “grittiness” and “never-say-dieness” and any other abstract phrase you’d like to toss at me means that they have to overcome many obstacles … obstacles like lack of money, owner interviews, and Mike Pelfrey. On Sunday, it was the latter. They overcame it with a Lucas Duda home run, a squeeze play, and scoreless innings by the bullpen. Yes, scoreless innings by the bullpen. Any summer afternoon where Ryota Igarashi is credited with a win is a day I have to either remind myself that win/loss records for pitchers are overrated, or log on to nyc.gov, review my disaster plan, and pack a go bag. But on the not so bizarre side, Bobby Parnell got back on the horse, and Josh Stinson got another long look and looked impressive. So far, I think Terry Collins’ taste in man-crushes are much better than Snoop Manuel’s taste in man-crushes.
In other news, the Phillies protested Sunday’s game against the Marlins over an interference play, and they wound up losing the game in 14 innings. Hence, by certain analyst’s logic, the Phillies lost today because they’re crybabies.
Tell Sarge I said it.
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