Has it really been a week since I posted? Oops. Over the weekend, the Mets got swept in a 4 game series by the moribund San Diego Padres. The Mets lost the first three games by identical 2-1 scores before Wagner blew a potential 4 out save Sunday afternoon, turning a 6-4 lead into an 8-6 loss. The losing streak stretched to 5 games when the thunderstorm Tuesday night failed to protect a 5-3 lead, yielding 2 runs during the delay before the Diamondbacks won going away 9-5.
Last night Mike Pelfrey took a shutout into the 9th inning, but left after giving up a leadoff single. Why was Pelf still pitching in the 9th inning of a 3 run game after having thrown 112 pitches? Fucked if I know! But there he was, and in came Wagner, trotting from the bullpen for an easy save. Strikeout, double, strikeout, home run and the game is tied. The Mets would eventually win in the bottom of the 13th inning on a Carlos Beltran walk off home run, but you really wish Pelfrey could have been rewarded for a pitching line that saw him go 8+ innings and give up 1 earned run (that scored on the home run).
Warning, actual technical baseball analysis ahead! So why has Wagner struggled so much recently when he's been lights out all year? Billy made a change to his delivery in the offseason, pitching from a full windup instead of the stretch. However, if runners are on base, he has to go back to the stretch delivery he's used in years past. Coming in for save situations to start innings, there are no runners on base. His last two appearances he has come in with runners on and given up home runs. Unfortunately, it seems that Wagner is almost entirely ineffective at this point in his career pitching from the stretch, which would be key in the event the Mets actually made the postseason. This means Willie can't use his best reliever with runners on base. Gah! Anyway, end technical baseball analysis.
However, I'm positive kind of guy (cough) so let's focus on the positives. First off, major kudos to Pelfrey who turned in his third straight solid start. Considering he's the only pitching prospect the Mets have, they need him to prove he can consistently win games at the major league level. Second, big props to Beltran for coming through in the bottom of the 13th with two outs. This guy has take a lot of heat over the years because of the size of his contract so I love to see him get those big hits. And finally let's talk about the bullpen who kept the Diamonbacks off the board after Wagner choked on a fat dick leading to Beltran's 13th inning heroics.
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