Small Sample Size, But …

So am I allowed to panic yet?

I know it’s just two games after the break. But let’s face it kids, this is a huge week going from the wild card leader to the division leader and tangling for six games with the two on the road. And these two losses to the Braves weren’t just the run of the mill losses that you can tag on the bullpen or the defense. No, these two games were total breakdowns. Starting pitching, situational hitting, lack of depth, and strategy from the top … all failed them along with the bullpen in these two games. And if this is the way it’s going to go until the trading deadline, maybe the Mets aren’t gonig to have to worry about whether to address the bullpen or the right-handed power bat or the starting pitching situation. Because there will be no reason to buy.

Let’s lead off with something right off the bat: Chris Young went three innings yesterday. R.A. Dickey went five. If the starting pitching is turning back into a pumpkin, the Mets are done. And they’ll be done before the calendar hits August. With the bullpen and the defense and the lack of power what it is, it’s imperative that the starters keep up their great pitching all season. Young can’t go back to being the guy who you wonder whether his arm is going to explode during a game. Dickey, fair or unfair, can’t go back to being a good pitcher. He has to be the national sensation that he has been. And Johan Santana has to … absolutely has to give the Mets seven strong innings or they’re going to get swept … again … in their own personal gulag known as Turner Field. No f’ing way this bullpen should be allowed to see any more action than absolutely necessary … certainly not a bullpen whose best option these days is a guy who has been in the major leagues for 48 hours.

Next, I refuse to believe that Terry Collins was pulling the strings after he was ejected after the umpires took away an out on Jordany Valdespin’s catch/non-catch in the fifth inning. But while we’re on the subject, let me say that the umpires were completely right in how they handled the situation, taking away Valdespin’s catch and awarding Martin Prado second base even though he was tagged out after wandering back to first base. Here’s why: 

Rule 9.02 (c) If the umpires consult after a play and change a call that had been made, then they have the authority to take all steps that they may deem necessary, in their discretion, to eliminate the results and consequences of the earlier call that they are reversing, including placing runners where they think those runners would have been after the play, had the ultimate call been made as the initial call.

Rule 9.02 (c), in essence, basically gives the umpires full autonomy to alter reality. They’re like Cristof in The Truman Show. Fine. But where was this discussion when C.B. Bucknor (my favorite) totally took a base hit away from Valdespin in the top of the fifth? Where was that conference? And where was Rule 9.02 (c) every other time there was a dispute over a catch/trap and a runner was tagged out because he thought the ball was caught? I’m sure there were five or six thousand of those plays the Mets have been screwed on, but now a crew that includes two of the worst umpires in baseball in Bucknor and Dan Iassogna all of a sudden want to follow the obscure rules that are in the book?

Okay, enough of that. As I said before, I can’t imagine that Terry Collins was pulling the strings after the ejection, because no way he would do the silly things that Bob Geren was ultimately responsible for. Don’t worry, I’ll get to the double switch involving Tejada. But why in the world would you double switch Scott Hairston in the game while bringing in Tim Byrdak for Jon Rauch in the seventh? I understand that they probably wanted to be able to keep Byrdak in for the eighth inning to face the lefty McCann (and McCann walked anyway), but when you’re winning the game you don’t downgrade defensively. And you certainly don’t get double-switch-happy so early in the game so as to leave your bench short handed for when you need it.

And then we come to the eighth. Having already made one double switch, Geren put himself in a position where he had one position player left besides Nickeas, and that was Ronny Cedeno. And after Pedro Beato faced Dan Uggla and Tyler Pastornicky in the inning (a long single and a strikeout on a bunt attempt), Geren (still blaming Geren) could either stick with Beato, go to Parnell for the five out save and double switch him, or just go to Parnell and let him bat for himself with two outs and nobody on, or sac bunt with him if necessary. Geren chose to double switch him. But having already made the double switch to go with Hairston, Geren boxed himself in to a decision to where the only other double switch he could have made was to put Cedeno in for Tejada, because putting him in for Murphy, a defensive upgrade, would have meant having having the pitcher bat second instead of third. Can’t do that, so he takes Tejada out of the game. A defensive downgrade while up by two runs. On what planet does this make sense?

Having been a Met fan for as long as you’ve been a Met fan, you already know what happens next. Just as when the umpires finally decide to enforce Rule 9.02 (c) the Braves would take advantage by driving in both those runs with two men out when the umpires getting it wrong like they normally do would have gotten them out of the inning. You knew that this double switch would burn the Mets.  And after Parnell had already blown the save by giving up run scoring hits to Michael Bourn and Martin Prado with a two run lead while throwing 100 mph turkey meatballs down the middle (one of which Prado was surprised to see before swinging at the next one), this happened:

Of course. On a ball Ruben Tejada could have gotten to, it goes past a diving Cedeno to give the Braves the lead, and pretty much the win since nobody has a clue on how to beat Craig Kimbrel without the burden of being overworked. (34 appearances for Kimbrel so far this season, as opposed to 47 by July 9th of last season … oh, and he’s given up one run in two months.) The Tejada double switch was stupid, but no more stupid than the Hairston double switch, which almost forced him to make the Tejada double switch. It wasn’t like Hairston was brought in to face a tough lefty. In fact, he didn’t even face a lefty. He faced Anthony Varvaro, and he did the same thing that Tim Byrdak would have done if he was allowed to bat for himself to face McCann the next inning, which was nothing. But even with that, here’s an idea: how about leaving Beato in for the eighth inning and not getting fancy and desperate with a two run lead in the ninth? Not to say Beato wouldn’t have blown the world up either, because hell in Turner Field Mariano Rivera would have blown that lead if he was wearing a Mets uniform because these things just happen at Turner Field. But Geren didn’t help. Instead, he wanted to show everybody that an A.L. manager can double-switch with the best of ’em. Well, you proved that, didn’t ya? Two defensive downgrades while leading in the game, how do you not expect that to burn you?

And one more thing, if Lucas Duda’s hamstring is bothering him, then put him on the disabled list. His at-bats make me want to vomit all over myself, shave with a rusty nail, and stick my sensitive areas in boiling oil while he’s healthy. I sure as hell don’t want to see him at less than 100% watching balls go down the middle and swinging at curveballs in obvious curveball counts. Enough! My eyes can’t take it anymore. I thought last night’s at-bat was bad, that at-bat he had today was atrocious. I mean, heaven forbid a guy who is six feet thirteen inches tall could take a good swing at something, or perhaps use some judgement instead of just going up there doing his Dave Kingman impersonation. Hell, Kingman had a better chance to hit those pitches if he swung at them, and he’s in Oregon!

So there you have it. Time to panic, I guess. The problem with panicking is that if Sandy Alderson tries to do something now, you know that other teams will smell blood in the water and ask for the world. Always happens that way. “Oh, your bullpen stinks and you need somebody now? Okay. Well, we have this fresh corpse which may or may not be better than anybody you have, but he’s better than Miguel Batista. But we want Zack Wheeler for him or it’s no deal.” Whereas the Yankees, because they’re the Yankees and because they’re not desperate, can get valuable pieces from league rivals and they’ll get away with giving up Fluffy McMarshmallow for him and it gets done. But for the Mets, the sharks will circle. But not to fear. After a few more losses, Sandy can safely get out of the water.