King of the Heilmans

Do you get the same feeling I do … the one where the rest of the 2011 season is an extended version of Jack Dawson sinking to the bottom of the ocean?

The Mets lost their fifth straight on Sunday, and J.J. Putz didn’t even feel like finishing them off this time, as he left it to David Hernandez. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a ghost of disasters past for Jacob Marley to send. Henry Blanco (you know him as Hank White) drove in one run with a double, and another one when Ryota Igarashi came in the game, couldn’t get anyone out, and culminated his stellar performance by walking Blanco, the guy with the lifetime on base percentage of .291, with the bases loaded. Kirk Gibson is going to get manager of the year because he’s contending for a division title while having to start the season with Aaron Heilman in their bullpen. Well that’s wonderful, but I’d like to see Gibson win with three Aaron Heilmans, which is what the Mets have in their bullpen on any given night. Igarashi is “Emperor Heilman”, D.J. Carrasco is “Viceroy Heilman”, and Manny Acosta and Bobby Parnell take turns being the “Royal Knight Heilman”

But once again, the Mets can’t scare up enough offense to scare the Snakes, even after Jason Marquis pitched an inning on a broken leg and had to leave for Zach Duke. Maybe the Mets could use a guy like Logan Morrison (the one we threw carrots at) for their lineup. Oh that’s right, he’s in New Orleans for the crime of having an opinion. Heaven forbid.

(And not for nothing, if the Mets had traded for a pitcher for a stretch run and let him pitch an inning on a broken leg, forget hyperbole, Citi Field really would have been burned down at that point. Funny how the Mets go in the complete opposite direction and not even let Mike Pelfrey take a warm-up pitch after getting nicked on the elbow, yet Jason Marquis pitches an inning on a broken leg. I’m not sure I can get used to the Mets being the cautious ones.)  

Five straight losses, all with ex-Mets playing prominent roles (Heath Bell, Putz, Blanco). This next week and a half could feature nine games where Bell, Francisco Rodriguez, and Wilson Valdez could shove it down the Mets’ throats. Lovely. It means that the Braves have ten days to convince Billy Wagner to come back to get his licks in. Why not.