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DawnBTVS · 03-09-2008, 11:14 PM

After another off day (04/18), we're back on the road this time heading to play the New York Mets who are currently sporting a record of 3-11, somehow doing awful giving me hope that we can take the games with ease because that's been our way throughout the year. Largely ignoring the 0-5 start.

The lone bright spot for our club is our 5th ranked 2.99 starter ERA and Wily Ace will be taking the mound for us this time. He's been wicked unlucky given his BABIP but he should begin to stabilize and I'm hoping that this start is the first of many good outings.

The first inning leads us off as Mark Grace flies out to deep center, Brian McRae grounds out on 3 pitches, but hope isn't lost into the ether just yet because Noodle Arm rakes a double. Swing For the Fences is up hitting .500/.545/.800 with RISP so he lives up to the illusion with a smoking grounder but gets thrown out after lollygagging down to first base.

Things start off ominously for Wily Ace...
Manny Alexander: Double despite hitting .185 on the year.
Edgardo Alfonzo: Strikes out on 6 pitches.
John Olerud: Walks on 4 pitches.
Todd Hundley: Watches Noodle Arm throw out the trailing runner on a double steal attempt and then grounds out on 5 pitches.

Well, Wily Ace got lucky as hell there but it doesn't bode well for the evening that he had to expend so many pitches just to get a blank scoreboard.

Rick Reed effortlessly shuts us down on only 11 pitches and Wily Ace continues to piss me off with his ill-advised pitching as he gives up a solo home run to Butch Huskey to start off the inning. You're supposed to be the wily old veteran with a growling meanness about him. Come on! My pep talk is a rallying war cry because he proceeds to allow a single off a 7 pitch at bat to Bernard Gilkey and a 5 pitch base hit to Jim Eisenrich. He finally gets a strike out but of course he can't do it the easy way (6 pitches) and I'm smoldering in my seat because I'm gonna get to rip through my bullpen again. By June, I'll have 6 dead arm injuries. Wily Ace is up to 43 pitches to end the inning despite a sacrifice hit scoring a run.

To start the third, Dave Hansen swings at 4 pitches completely outside the strike zone and grounds out to prove that his judgement was fabulous. Wily Ace grounds out and I know this is a bad night when Mark Grace swings at two pitches outside the strike zone and flies out on a pitch high and inside. Oh, hell.

The bottom of the third starts out promisingly, 3 pitches to get two outs but then Todd Hundley shatters the funhouse mirror with a solo home run, giving New York a 2 run lead now. The inning can't end with a 1 pitch at bat... no, he's way too crafty for that. His 87 MPH fastball lets Wily Ace waste 8 pitches before Butch Huskey flies out to end the inning.

I manage to get my mind off the suck a little bit as Brian McRae walks to lead off the fourth and Noodle Arm flies out on only 2 pitches. God... why? Swing For the Fences does his job, popping out on 2 more pitches and Brant Brown mercifully ends this horrid display of patience by swinging at 4 pitches outside the strike zone, only taking 1 for the ball that it was.

The Mets add another run after getting two base hits from Rick Reed (Really??) and Manny Alexander. This of course all occurs after two outs and Wily Ace is now up to 84 pitches. In all of 4 innings of work, thank you. He walks Edgardo Alfonzo to load the bases and I'm stuck having to call Miguel Batista in. He comes in to face John Olerud and gets a 1 pitch foul popup for the final out.

How are we only down 3-0? I'm in utter amazement that they haven't completely ripped us apart but I still have faith that'll occur sometime later in the night. Tony Batista continues to supply mental anguish by getting a base hit, becoming greedy like he thinks he's the new Rickey Henderson, and getting thrown out at second for his troubles. Not surprisingly, Shawon Dunston gets a single and Dave Hansen gets his own single to mock the fact that we could have a run on the board right now but we don't. I actually sacrifice the runners over with Miguel Batista and there are two runners on with two out. Mark Grace channels the mastery of Bill James and walks after an insane 11 pitch at bat. Bases are now loaded and rockets are go! Go as in end the inning because McRae grounds out after taking hacks at three pitches low and outside the K zone.

*Groan*

As if my troubles couldn't get worse, Miguel Batista gets two quick strikeouts before a single by Bernard Gilkey and two straight walks to Jim Eisenreich and Carl Everett fill the bases. Only 1 run scores off the Rick Reed single due to greed and I'm still within striking distance.

The sixth inning starts with our offense still quietly plugging away. A Noodle Arm single starts things off followed by a ground out by Swing For the Fences to advance the runner to second. Brant Brown gets intentionally walked and Tony Batista makes them pay with a double play inning ender.

Doug Bochtler and his sparkling 54.05 ERA come in for the bottom of the sixth because in all honesty, things can't get much worse. He proceeds to get three straight outs on only 7 pitches, cementing this game as a bizarre mockery of whatever a normal game may be.

The 7th inning goes by with the offense doing nil and the Mets surprisingly go down in order as well. Since when did Doug Bochtler become the killer of all New York Mets bats? And we're still only down 4 runs!

Mark Grace and Brian McRae are both out on 9 pitches to start the eighth inning off. Noodle Arm ends things with a 5 pitch fly out and now it's up to calling on Terry Adams to keep things in check in the bottom half. Jim Eisenreich flies out but after 9 pitches, Carl Everett makes contact and slides into second with a double. Pinch hitter Matt Franco strikes out and Manny Alexander also K's on 6 pitches.

Top of the ninth down only 4 runs but our offense has been sputtering to the tune of 4 hits in comparison to New York's 11. Manny Alexander's 4th error of the year helps put Swing For the Fences on base to start things off and I can feel my heart speeding up at what could be with this offense. All hope gets crushed when Brant Brown proceeds to slug his way to an easy double play. As a mere formality, Tony Batista flies out to ensure another loss on the record sheet. I'm still confounded how we only lost 4-0.

CHC 0 NYM 4
WP: Rick Reed (1-2) 8.0 IP, 4 HA, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
LP: Terry Mulholland (1-2) 3.2 IP, 8 HA, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 89 pitches

While that game sucked, Game Ball goes to Doug Bochtler who went 2 IP with 0 HA and dipped his ERA back down to a more manageable 13.50.

03-09-2008, 11:14 PM	#27 (permalink)
DawnBTVS Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Sudbury, MA Posts: 145	What do you do with a 1-5 record on the road? After another off day (04/18), we're back on the road this time heading to play the New York Mets who are currently sporting a record of 3-11, somehow doing awful giving me hope that we can take the games with ease because that's been our way throughout the year. Largely ignoring the 0-5 start. The lone bright spot for our club is our 5th ranked 2.99 starter ERA and Wily Ace will be taking the mound for us this time. He's been wicked unlucky given his BABIP but he should begin to stabilize and I'm hoping that this start is the first of many good outings. The first inning leads us off as Mark Grace flies out to deep center, Brian McRae grounds out on 3 pitches, but hope isn't lost into the ether just yet because Noodle Arm rakes a double. Swing For the Fences is up hitting .500/.545/.800 with RISP so he lives up to the illusion with a smoking grounder but gets thrown out after lollygagging down to first base. Things start off ominously for Wily Ace... Manny Alexander: Double despite hitting .185 on the year. Edgardo Alfonzo: Strikes out on 6 pitches. John Olerud: Walks on 4 pitches. Todd Hundley: Watches Noodle Arm throw out the trailing runner on a double steal attempt and then grounds out on 5 pitches. Well, Wily Ace got lucky as hell there but it doesn't bode well for the evening that he had to expend so many pitches just to get a blank scoreboard. Rick Reed effortlessly shuts us down on only 11 pitches and Wily Ace continues to piss me off with his ill-advised pitching as he gives up a solo home run to Butch Huskey to start off the inning. You're supposed to be the wily old veteran with a growling meanness about him. Come on! My pep talk is a rallying war cry because he proceeds to allow a single off a 7 pitch at bat to Bernard Gilkey and a 5 pitch base hit to Jim Eisenrich. He finally gets a strike out but of course he can't do it the easy way (6 pitches) and I'm smoldering in my seat because I'm gonna get to rip through my bullpen again. By June, I'll have 6 dead arm injuries. Wily Ace is up to 43 pitches to end the inning despite a sacrifice hit scoring a run. To start the third, Dave Hansen swings at 4 pitches completely outside the strike zone and grounds out to prove that his judgement was fabulous. Wily Ace grounds out and I know this is a bad night when Mark Grace swings at two pitches outside the strike zone and flies out on a pitch high and inside. Oh, hell. The bottom of the third starts out promisingly, 3 pitches to get two outs but then Todd Hundley shatters the funhouse mirror with a solo home run, giving New York a 2 run lead now. The inning can't end with a 1 pitch at bat... no, he's way too crafty for that. His 87 MPH fastball lets Wily Ace waste 8 pitches before Butch Huskey flies out to end the inning. I manage to get my mind off the suck a little bit as Brian McRae walks to lead off the fourth and Noodle Arm flies out on only 2 pitches. God... why? Swing For the Fences does his job, popping out on 2 more pitches and Brant Brown mercifully ends this horrid display of patience by swinging at 4 pitches outside the strike zone, only taking 1 for the ball that it was. The Mets add another run after getting two base hits from Rick Reed (Really??) and Manny Alexander. This of course all occurs after two outs and Wily Ace is now up to 84 pitches. In all of 4 innings of work, thank you. He walks Edgardo Alfonzo to load the bases and I'm stuck having to call Miguel Batista in. He comes in to face John Olerud and gets a 1 pitch foul popup for the final out. How are we only down 3-0? I'm in utter amazement that they haven't completely ripped us apart but I still have faith that'll occur sometime later in the night. Tony Batista continues to supply mental anguish by getting a base hit, becoming greedy like he thinks he's the new Rickey Henderson, and getting thrown out at second for his troubles. Not surprisingly, Shawon Dunston gets a single and Dave Hansen gets his own single to mock the fact that we could have a run on the board right now but we don't. I actually sacrifice the runners over with Miguel Batista and there are two runners on with two out. Mark Grace channels the mastery of Bill James and walks after an insane 11 pitch at bat. Bases are now loaded and rockets are go! Go as in end the inning because McRae grounds out after taking hacks at three pitches low and outside the K zone. Groan As if my troubles couldn't get worse, Miguel Batista gets two quick strikeouts before a single by Bernard Gilkey and two straight walks to Jim Eisenreich and Carl Everett fill the bases. Only 1 run scores off the Rick Reed single due to greed and I'm still within striking distance. The sixth inning starts with our offense still quietly plugging away. A Noodle Arm single starts things off followed by a ground out by Swing For the Fences to advance the runner to second. Brant Brown gets intentionally walked and Tony Batista makes them pay with a double play inning ender. Doug Bochtler and his sparkling 54.05 ERA come in for the bottom of the sixth because in all honesty, things can't get much worse. He proceeds to get three straight outs on only 7 pitches, cementing this game as a bizarre mockery of whatever a normal game may be. The 7th inning goes by with the offense doing nil and the Mets surprisingly go down in order as well. Since when did Doug Bochtler become the killer of all New York Mets bats? And we're still only down 4 runs! Mark Grace and Brian McRae are both out on 9 pitches to start the eighth inning off. Noodle Arm ends things with a 5 pitch fly out and now it's up to calling on Terry Adams to keep things in check in the bottom half. Jim Eisenreich flies out but after 9 pitches, Carl Everett makes contact and slides into second with a double. Pinch hitter Matt Franco strikes out and Manny Alexander also K's on 6 pitches. Top of the ninth down only 4 runs but our offense has been sputtering to the tune of 4 hits in comparison to New York's 11. Manny Alexander's 4th error of the year helps put Swing For the Fences on base to start things off and I can feel my heart speeding up at what could be with this offense. All hope gets crushed when Brant Brown proceeds to slug his way to an easy double play. As a mere formality, Tony Batista flies out to ensure another loss on the record sheet. I'm still confounded how we only lost 4-0. CHC 0 NYM 4 WP: Rick Reed (1-2) 8.0 IP, 4 HA, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K LP: Terry Mulholland (1-2) 3.2 IP, 8 HA, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 89 pitches While that game sucked, Game Ball goes to Doug Bochtler who went 2 IP with 0 HA and dipped his ERA back down to a more manageable 13.50. Last edited by DawnBTVS : 03-09-2008 at 11:21 PM.