Game 105: Mets vs. Nationals @ Shea Stadium

*Sigh* Pelfrey vs. a No-namer. This has "terrible" written all over it.

The Good: In a matter of four pitches (a Gotay single, Wright double, Delgado homer), the Mets turned their luck against Jon Hanrahan right around. Pelfrey pitched good enough to win...AGAIN...and Guillermo Mota looked good. Ruben Gotay continues to hammer the ball while Reyes continues to semi-struggle; David Wright played well tonight. Delgado also swung the bat well after being embarrassed on three pitches. He hit a key homer to tie the game and later hit an r.b.i. single to continue a late rally. In the eighth, after a huge Alou double play, Shawn Green lined a single, stole second, took third on a throwing error, and almost came around to score. Ramon Castro would end the inning on a grounder up the middle. Although he made an out leading off the ninth, Lastings Milledge had a good at bat/game (he made a few bad plays in the field but also gunned a runner out at third). Tom Glavine had to bat second in the ninth inning because of Beltran's softness/Randolph's stupidity and promptly made the second out. The game ended shortly after.

The Bad: Pelfrey had another "bad inning outing." He gave up a triple to the opposing pitcher in his first at-bat, gave up a few bloopers, and then the Met offense fell asleep until the sixth. Lo Duca got hurt in the seventh which was followed by a plethora of questionable moves by Willie. After yanking Lo Duca because of an apparent leg injury, he pinch-hit his last utility player in Marlon Anderson (flied out), pinch ran El Duque, and brought in Castro the next inning. He also brought in Feliciano (who was not so good) to lead off the inning against Austin Kearns, who collected a hit and came around to score. The go-ahead r.b.i. came off of the bat of below-the-Mendoza-line hitter Ryan Langerhans. Now that Moises Alou is back: WTF!!!

Overall: Even when the Mets win, they lose. This loss can be blamed on Willie Randolph, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman (so much for all this talk claiming he has been dominant), and/or Moises Alou. Take your pick.

2 Cents: Why do the Mets always do so poorly against no-name pitchers? It seems that just as quick as the Mets tied it, things fell apart just as fast. Injuries started popping up, the game was lost, and the Phillies scored eight runs in their big-inning to win their game and cut the NL East Met lead to 3.5 games. Braves lose, Phils win, another series given away. Sickening.

Final Score: Mets 4, Nationals 5. Record: 58-45.