Game 89: Mets vs. Reds @ Shea Stadium

After a much needed rest during the All-Star break and a good showing at the All-Star Game (by our reps), the Mets look to storm out of the gates during the second half. El Duque toes the slab tonight as they face the Cincinnati Reds' Bronson Arroyo.

The Good: The Mets would come out swinging today as Jose Reyes would lead off the game with his fifth home run of the season. Ruben Gotay would follow with a jack of his own and just like that the Mets were up 2-0. On the pitching end, El Duque would pitch six innings of seven strikeout, two run ball. The Mets would not muster much offense until the fifth inning when Lastings Milledge would lace a single to right field to lead off the inning. With two outs, Milledge was off with the pitch and Ruben Gotay blooped a hit just out of Ryan Freel's dive in center and Milledge would be waved around third base. Freel's throw home barely had any juice left to reach the plate and Milledge's sweet slide around the catcher put the Mets up for good. After escaping some trouble in the ninth inning, in large part because of Brandon Phillips base running blunder (taking third on a grounder to Reyes), Billy Wagner would come on in the ninth to record his 18th save in 19 chances.

The Bad: Not much offense after the first two runs.

Overall: Good start.

Transactions: Prior to the game, the Mets announced the following:

1.)Julio Franco has been released and Lastings Milledge has been called up from the minor leagues.
2.)Rick Down has been fired as hitting coach and will be replaced by Rickey Henderson, with Howard Johnson taking over most of the duties.
3.)Jose Valentin injured his pinkie breaking up a fight over the All-Star break.
4.)Marlon Anderson has signed a minor-league contract with the Mets.

Notes: The back-to-back lead off home runs by the Mets is the first time the feat has been accomplished in team history.

2 Cents: It is good to see Jose Reyes have a great game, El Duque pitch great, Lastings Milledge hit one to right field and hustle to score the winning run, Ruben Gotay step in and produce, and the Mets win a ballgame. Reyes and Milledge hit the ball hard most of the time tonight and the bullpen looked great. Furthermore, for everyone bashing Reyes for his "lack of hustle," I hope they look at his play in the the bottom of the seventh inning. On a short blooper into shallow center field, Reyes seemed to be past first when the ball landed and hauled some ass into second base which resulted in a belly-flopping double. Speak no more of it, the man plays to win.

Thoughts on Moves: I am glad to see that Franco's recent performance will no longer plague the Mets, but I will dearly miss his role in the clubhouse. From mentoring the young Mets to kicking Beltran in the rear-end to take a curtain call early in the '06 season, Franco was a tremendous asset to this ball club for one and a half seasons. I wish him the best and applaud the move by Omar Minaya. As for Rick Down, I never really liked the guy but don't believe it is his fault we're not hitting. I don't know if Rickey OR HoJo will make a difference either; they might even switch coaching roles for all we know. Jose Valentin's luck with the Mets seems to be running out. Lastly, after snubbing the Mets and going after the money following the 2005 season, I don't really want to see Marlon Anderson back on the ball club. However, if he can still swing the bat and produce as well as he did in 2005 while coming off of the bench, then we really have no choice.

Final Score: Mets 3, Reds 2. Record: 49-39.