Double-Dip Dud

It's no secret that when your starting pitching is bad and your run producers are not...well...producing runs, you are going to lose ball games. On the 50th Anniversary of the first win in franchise history, the Mets lost two ball games to their deserting ancestors, the first 1-6 and the second 2-7.

The worst of it, outside of the starting pitching and the general lack of offense from the middle of the order, might have been Ike Davis. He had as awful of a day as you could imagine, going 0-5 between the two games. Of the 20 men the Mets left on base, 11 of those were left out there by Ike. He looks as frustrated as one could look right now, and while I feel one day he will dramatically emerge from that dark tunnel, something drastic might have to be done between now and that day.

Before the first game, the Mets placed Ronny Cedeno on the DL and "taxied" in two players, infielder Jordany Valdespin and pitcher Jeremy Hefner as part of the revamped collective bargaining agreement (there are much better explanations out there about this whole "taxi squad" thing than I could ever give, so, here, read that.) After Miguel Batista gave up six runs in 3.2 innings, Hefner came in to make his Major League debut, pitching 3 innings of scoreless baseball. I figured with the way Batista has been pitching lately, he would be designated for assignment to make room for Jordany, keeping Jeremy on the roster. Valdespin, however, replaced Hefner's spot instead and the pitcher made his way back to Buffalo. I can understand valuing Batista's versatility (I have coined him "The Handyman" in the past) but the elderly statesmen has not looked good as of late, and if the results don't improve, something will have to be done.

Two quick thoughts: 

• Mike Baxter plays hard and battles, but Vinny Rottino might be a better fit for this bench.
• It was quite the anti-climatic Major League debut for Jordany Valdespin, popping up on the first pitch he saw with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 8th inning of the second game, down 5 runs. Have a little more patience next time, Jordany. You can rake it, bro.

Clearly, this is not the kind of baseball we want to be playing going into a series with a divisional rival, much less the revamped Marlins with our former shortstop gunning to beat us. Adversity can make a team stronger, and I am sure the Mets will be pumped to beat Miami, especially with Johan on the mound and with that fiery shortstop now on the other side.

Brush dem shoulders off, Metropolitans. You gotta gut some fish tomorrow.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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