So the Mets get cosmic justice for the Game One rainout in New York with a Game Five rainout in St. Louis, as tonight’s game is put off to tomorrow. I don’t want to sound like Whitey Herzog here, bemoaning that the particulars of the postseason schedule didn’t precisely fit the relative strengths of his and his opponents’ pitching staffs, but it is in general a good thing, as well as obviously good for the Mets, that Glavine and Weaver will now start on their regular rest. (It’s even better news, in a way, if this tempts LaRussa to start Carpenter on short rest, since the Mets need to beat him once anyway). Of course, it’s even more urgent than it was in the 1986 NLCS (with Mike Scott looming) that the Mets put this away in six with Glavine and Maine, rather than have to go back to the grab bag of Perez, an injured Trachsel, or a reliever who hasn’t started all year (Oliver or, less likely, Heilman – especially less likely with no rest after Games 5&6) to start Game 7 against Suppan.
As to Trachsel, unlike some, I don’t fault him for coming out of the game the other night after being hit by a line drive – he was about ready to be yanked anyway, and the injury gave the Mets time to get Oliver warm. And a really deep bruise can be nasty. But if the Mets did want him to pitch Game 7 (I’d rather see Perez, at this point, if only because he’s more likely to make it to the third or fourth inning before melting down), I can’t see why a days-old bruise, painful as it is, would prevent a professional athlete from wanting that ball.
The other good news: if the Mets do get to the next round, El Duque will be ready to go. Hold on: the cavalry is coming! (that is, to the extent that “the cavalry” means “a 40-year-old pitcher with a 4.66 ERA who hasn’t pitched in three weeks”).
7 thoughts on “The Washout”
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Regarding Trachsel, I never really thought of baseball in military terms, not being a vet myself, but it struck me that you’d probably prefer to have in your platoon a guy who’s less deadly with a rifle but shows courage when needed — if you were forced to choose between him and a guy who’s a great marksman but unwilling to tough it out through adversity.
Unfair? Maybe.
To paraphrase Mike Francesa, “El Duque is a big time pitcher. He loves the spotlight. El Dugue is a big time pitcher. He loves the spotlight.” Leans to Chris Russo, “He loves the spotlight.”
It’s just a hunch, but I feel that John Maine will be lights out next start.
I don’t want Trachs on the mound as a starter (unless mets are up 3-0 next round) for any reason. Bad stuff, bad “testicular” stuff, bad body language.
Bad.
If the Mets win the World Series with this sad-sack pitching staff, I hope all the people who say “pitching is 75% of baseball” shut up. Pitching’s about 40% of the game, and the Mets are proving it.
Given the Game 3 performance’s why wouldn’t we just see what Darren Oliver can do, rather than worry about Trachsel? I’d start Oliver before I’d start Tracs.
All things being equal, Perez will get the start if it goes 7. Several reasons: when he is on, he is clearly better. Shea favors good pitching. He is a lefty.
Keep in mind, that all of this depends upon winning tonight, or the Mets go into Shea needing a win, with John Maine on the mound. BTW, Maine can be good, so you never know. A lot of what we call good pitching is really good defense. The Mets are really good up the middle, as many good pitching teams are. Trachsel always pitched slowly, which hurts the defense a lot. Ever notice how many great pitchers work quickly? How few work slowly?