ATLANTA—Things have gotten so bad for the Mets that their general manager has decided to watch them in person on the road.
After yesterday’s 10-8 loss to the Marlins, it was announced that GM Omar Minaya was making the flight to Atlanta to watch his team play.
When a GM of a team heads on the road to see his team, it means one of two things: Either he wants to give his team a vote of confidence, or he’s all set to fire his manager if the team continues to lose.
If the Mets want a vote of confidence and want their manager with them at Citi Field on Friday, they better start winning some games fast.
After getting swept in a four-game series in Miami, the Mets will now play two games in Atlanta and two games in Washington.
To start the mini series with the Braves, the Mets will send out Mike Pelfrey, who’s looking to bounce back after a poor start against the Nationals last Wednesday. In that game, Pelfrey was hurt by allowing two base hits to opposing pitcher Craig Stammen. Now Pelfrey, who’s struggled in May after one of the greatest Aprils in Mets history, will be called upon to stop the massive bleeding.
The Mets do have one thing going for them, and that’s the knack of coming back when down big. The Mets three times this week came back from large deficits to at least tie a game.
Last Sunday against Tim Lincecum, the Mets trailed 4-0 and came back to take a lead before losing. Last Tuesday the Mets won a game after trailing 6-2 in the eighth. Yesterday, down 7-0 in the sixth, the Mets got six runs back before losing. So at least one positive is the Mets’ coming back when down big and late.
Meanwhile, the Braves will send out Derek Lowe, who has been getting tons of run support this season. In eight starts, he’s 5-3 although he has an ERA of 5.73. His walk-to-strikeout ratio is just about 1-to-1, and he’s allowed more hits than innings pitched. The Mets never seem to fare well against groundball pitchers, which Lowe is, being he’s a sinkerballer, so it may be tough for the Mets to score runs against him.
Mike Pelfrey must, I repeat, must go deep into this game. The Mets have a grand total of zero wins by a starter in the month of May, and their bullpen is ridiculously overused. That was evidenced by Fernando Nieve giving up the pinch-hit three-run home run to Chris Coghlan yesterday to allow Florida to widen their lead.
If the Mets don’t start winning games on this road trip, they may have a new manager come Friday against the Yankees.
Mike Pelfrey vs. Atlanta (April 25)*
Win, 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 hits, 5 BB, 3 SO
Derek Lowe vs. New York (career)
3-3, 7.61 ERA, 36.2 IP, 54 hits, 15 BB, 17 SO
2010 season series (New York vs. Atlanta)
April 23: New York 5, Atlanta 2
April 24: New York 3, Atlanta 1
*April 25: New York 1, Atlanta 0
Mets lead series 3-0
* denotes rain-shortened five-inning game
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