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June 13, 2007
Dodgers 4, Mets 1
Bad Month Gets Worse for Maine and the Mets
By BEN SHPIGEL
LOS ANGELES, June 12 — Willie Randolph won two World Series rings by
age 24, played for demanding managers like Billy Martin and Lou
Piniella, and was hired after 12 failed managerial interviews. He says
he has seen it all, done it all, in his 35 seasons in professional
baseball, and that includes enduring slumps like the one the Mets are in
right now.
This is not their first tailspin during Randolph’s three seasons as
manager, but it has come at a most inopportune time. Their 4-1 loss
against the Dodgers on Tuesday night was their eight in nine games and
dropped them to 36-27, the first time the Mets have been fewer than 10
games over .500 in a month.
John Maine (6-4) had the indignity of allowing home runs on three
consecutive pitches, to the Dodgers’ Nos. 7-8-9 hitters, in the second
inning, and the Mets never recovered. They managed one run and five hits
in seven innings against the left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo, whose mammoth
homer off Maine capped the Dodgers’ rare feat. It was the first time
the Mets had allowed three consecutive home runs since Pete Harnisch
gave up three to San Diego on April 1, 1997.
Even if losing 9 of 11 this month makes Mets fans antsy, especially with
the team’s schedule growing more daunting every day and the Braves (two
games back) and Phillies (three) closing in, it is just baseball to
Randolph.
“It’s what I know about winning baseball and the season, its ebbs and
flows,” he said.
His composure does not reduce the sting of losing. The Mets are assured
of dropping their fourth consecutive series and need Jorge Sosa, who has
won their only two games this month, to outduel the Dodgers ace Brad
Penny on Wednesday night to avoid the sweep.
When the Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second inning Tuesday, scoring
first for the fifth consecutive game, the omens were plentiful.
David Wright’s leadoff single, the 500th hit of his career, extended
his hitting streak to 14 games, and he promptly stole second, his 14th
stolen base in 14 attempts. The next batter, Carlos Delgado, drove him
home with a single, snapping his 0-for-17 slide with runners in scoring
position, to give Maine a run to play with.
That lead lasted, oh, about three minutes. With one out, Wilson Betemit
crushed an 0-1 pitch into the seats in left-center to tie the score at
1-1. The next batter, Matt Kemp, had barely been introduced when he hit
the first pitch 447 feet down the left-field line, becoming the first
player to reach the loge level here since July 2005.
With Kuo, who had one career hit, up next, there was no way the Dodgers
would hit three in a row, right? Not so fast. Maine threw a first-pitch
fastball that Kuo clobbered into the right-center-field stands. The
moment Kuo made contact, he knew. He tossed the bat to the grass with
the nonchalance of a slugger and broke into a trot around the bases.
The Dodgers had hit four consecutive home runs before, last Sept. 18,
and the crowd was still standing when Rafael Furcal came to the plate.
The first pitch popped into Paul Lo Duca’s glove for a strike, drawing
a chorus of boos, and Furcal lined out to José Valentín. Even if the
Mets were not laughing, the public-address announcer showed his sense of
humor by playing “It’s easy as 1-2-3” from the Jackson Five song
“ABC.”
Throughout this slide, Randolph has spoken generally about themes that
discourage him. Until Tuesday, there had rarely been specific moments
that irked him. He had at least three to choose from.
In the fourth, José Reyes pulled his glove back on Kemp’s steal of
second, letting the throw sail into center and Kemp scoot to third. In
the fifth, Maine popped out on a bunt attempt. And in the sixth, in
relief of Maine, Joe Smith allowed his 10th consecutive inherited runner
to score, as the Dodgers went ahead, 4-1.
Randolph draws on his experiences with the people he considers his
mentors, people like Martin and Piniella, Dick Howser and Yogi Berra, to
form his distinct managerial style. That usually does not entail team
meetings, but he felt it was worth it to give a pep talk before Monday
’s game. It was not to motivate his players, he said, because this
stretch should be reason enough to motivate them.
“We feel that when the dust clears, we’ll be where we want to be,”
Randolph said. “If not, that’s life. We’ve just got to keep getting
better and better. We’re not as good as we want to be.”
INSIDE PITCH
Moises Alou, originally scheduled to fly Tuesday to Port St. Lucie,
Fla., to continue receiving treatment for his strained left quadriceps,
remained in New York to be evaluated by the team’s medical director,
Dr. David Altchek. “He’s not going to play anytime soon, so it doesn
’t matter where he goes or where he stays,” Manager Willie Randolph
said. ... The Class AAA reliever Ambiorix Burgos was examined in New
York and placed on the minor league disabled list with elbow discomfort.
The organization remained concerned that he would require reconstructive
elbow surgery. ... Pedro Martínez threw 50 pitches off a mound in Port
St. Lucie.
from Nytimes
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