June 1, 2009, Florida Marlins-New York Mets game story for Metro (NY) Newspaper
Just plain ill
Mets survive sickness, fling the Fish
“I think I still could have pitched, but then again, why take that risk when you’ve got such a good bullpen?”
Mets starter John Maine, who was pulled after six innings with a stomach bug
The Mets were sick before and during yesterday’s game. It was the Marlins, though, who left Citi Field feeling ill.
On a day when two players came down with a stomach flu and another left an injured groin, the Mets completed a six game homestand by beating the Marlins, 3-2. The Mets (28-21) finished May with 19-9 record and trail Philadelphia for the division lead by a half game. The Mets are on the road this week, with four games in Pittsburgh and three in Washington.
The Mets are to be forgiven if they’re pleased to see May come to an end, as five players (Jose Reyes, Oliver Perez, Carlos Delgado, Alex Cora and Ryan Church) went on the DL during the month. So, it only made sense that illness and injury combined to rob the Mets of three more players before and during the last game of the month.
Jerry Manuel was forced to scratch Carlos Beltran before the game with a stomach virus. Manuel replaced Beltran with Angel Pagan, who left the game in the fourth with what was called right groin discomfort. Outfielder-first baseman Jeremy Reed replaced Pagan in centerfield. Afterwards, Manuel announced that Pagan underwent a MRI to determine the severity of the injury. Later, the stomach virus forced starter John Maine (5-3) from the game in the sixth. Maine had only thrown 82 pitches when he was lifted. Maine struck out five without allowing a run. He scattered three hits and walked two.
“I had a low pitch count and wanted to keep going, but what are you going to do? Can’t help it,” said Maine. “I was thinking ‘at least the seventh.’ I wanted to go one more inning. If I could have gone out there for two more, that would have been great. I wish I could have but the bullpen has been great.”
After Maine was pulled yesterday, the game’s best bullpen statistically (7-9, 2.89) lived up to its ranking as Pedro Feliciano (1 IP, 0H, 0R, 1K), Bobby Parnell (2/3 IP, 1H, 1K) and Francisco Rodriguez (1IP, 0H, 0R, 3K, 1BB to earn his 14th save, tied with San Diego’s Heath Bell for most in the Majors) were dominant. The only negative was J.J. Putz, who has not yet acclimated himself to the set-up role. In 1/3 of an inning, he surrendered two hits and two runs (both earned), walked a batter and left to a chorus of boos when replaced by Parnell.
“We (have to do) what is best to win the game. Sometimes those are tough decisions, but if you feel that it is the best chance to win then that’s what you do,” Manuel said of his decision to pull Putz. The manager then praised his closer.
“The thing that I’m seeing is a pitcher with tremendous instincts. It’s as if he has a book, a tremendous memory, as to what he did last to a particular hitter. Then he has the ability, if you have a chance to hurt him, to do something different,” said Manuel.
All of the Mets’ runs came via the RBI double off of Marlins’ starter Chris Volstad (4-4). Pagan’s two-out double in the third scored Wilson Valdez with the game’s first run. The Mets’ nursed the 1-0 lead until the seventh when Fernando Martinez (scoring Gary Sheffield, who had gotten on with an infield single) and Omir Santos (scoring Martinez) ripped consecutive RBI doubles to left field.
“Even though he is a 20 year old kid, he has the potential to be a good hitter at the Major League level. Also, too, we had the old secret weapon, Santos, lurking back there,” Manuel said. “It was very encouraging (to see Martinez go the other way). That’s a part of the hitting program we have; to take balls the other way. As a young hitter, he seems to have the ability to make adjustments during the at-bat.”
Both of the Marlins’ runs came in the eighth. Emilio Bonifacio drove in Ross Gload with a RBI single and Hanley Ramirez’s RBI single scored Chris Coghlan.
Three things we saw yesterday at Citi Field
1 Fernando-mania: No, not the fever that gripped Los Angeles in 1981 when Fernando Valenzuela was pumping strikes for the Dodgers. Rather, it’s the buzz when Fernando Martinez comes to the plate. In five games with the Mets, the organization’s top prospect has heard cheers reserved for a savior and boos for not running hard out of the box. In the seventh inning yesterday, Martinez ripped an RBI double and scored on Omir Santos’ RBI double to go up 3-0. “Even though he is a 20-year-old kid, he has the potential to be a good hitter at the Major League level,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “It was very encouraging. He seems to have the ability to make adjustments during the at-bat.”
2 Maine man: During the offseason, experts suggested that general manager Omar Minaya needed to add another starter (Derek Lowe? Re-sign Pedro Martinez?) to a rotation that was seen as lacking after Johan Santana. The Mets passed, using their vast financial resources to bolster the bullpen. One of the reasons was the presence of right-hander John Maine. Before he was yanked after six innings because of a stomach bug, Maine struck out five without surrendering a run. “It’s my workouts in between starts, getting back into the swing of things and throwing three pitches for strikes. It’s made it easier,” said Maine, who picked up his second straight win to improve to 5-3 on the season.
3 Putz lone soft spot in bullpen: This season the Mets have the game’s best bullpen (7-9, 2.89). After Maine’s exit yesterday, Pedro Feliciano (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 SO), Bobby Parnell (2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) and Francisco Rodriguez (1 IP, 0 H, 0 , 3 SO, 1 BB) were dominant. “The thing that I’m seeing [with Rodriguez] is a pitcher with tremendous instincts,” Manuel said. “It’s as if he has a book, a tremendous memory, as to what he did last to a particular hitter. Then he has the ability, if you have a chance to hurt him, to do something different.” The only negative was J.J. Putz, who has yet to acclimate himself to the setup role. In 1/3 of an inning, he gave up two earned runs on two hits and walked a batter.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 8:32 AM
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