David Wright and the Mets reminded fans of the franchise’s current problems with a 14-1 loss. (Paul J. Bereswill)
It’s not as if Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Davey Johnson and Frank Cashen, the four men formally inducted yesterday into the Mets’ Hall of Fame, haven’t seen days like this.
And it’s not as if the Mets haven’t had days like this, either. The problem isn’t that the shoddy work in every facet of the game that contaminated yesterday’s 14-1 defeat to the Diamondbacks occurred in front of such a distinguished quartet, it’s that it occurred at all . . . or again, in the final game of a disappointing 3-3 homestand.
“A loss is a loss; it doesn’t matter who sees it,” David Wright said after the Mets conspired to lose their fifth of six games in the season series to the otherwise horrific Snakes. “There was a lot of history there, with [a couple] of the best players ever to play in this city, but what happens before the game doesn’t carry over.”
The pre-game honor bestowed upon the 1986 World Championship general manager, manager and the two star-crossed stars who would later capture more glory in The Bronx was a reminder of better days.
It also, however, served as a reminder of just how fallow Mets’ history actually is; of how little they’ve won and of how many bad days there have been on the parking lot grounds.
And if the ceremony was a bittersweet reminder of what could have been and what should have been for Doc and Darryl, if they just could have avoided all those white lines outside of the white lines on the diamond, the game was a foretelling of what will be for the Mets if they don’t get their act together immediately on a six-game tour to Atlanta and Philadelphia that begins tonight with Johan Santana facing the Braves.
They will be done like Don and Betty Draper’s marriage.
The Mets allowed 37 runs in six games this week at Citi Field, while surrendering seven home runs and committing six errors. They are 5-7 in their last 12 at home in what previously had been their impenetrable fortress and 7-16 in their last 23 overall.
“There’s no question that we don’t have any momentum going into this trip, especially after a game like this,” Wright said. “We’re at a standstill.”
A standstill would be an improvement. Jon Niese yielded a pair of home runs to Adam LaRoche and seven runs in 4 1/3 innings. The lineup went 22 straight batters without a hit between the first and eighth innings. The defense committed two errors and several other unrecorded miscues. Arizona batted around in the fourth and fifth innings.
Indeed, it’s difficult to be worse than the Mets were yesterday and still get paid to play the game.
Now, this team that’s on the outer edge of the divisional and wild-card picture must put the pieces back together this week or face a final seven weeks filled with recriminations and an empty home ballpark.
“We haven’t been able to put together complete games,” said Wright. “When we’ve gotten good pitching, we haven’t hit and when we’ve hit we haven’t gotten good pitching.
“That’s not a good recipe for trying to make a run and get hot, which is what we need to do.”
The Mets haven’t been hot since the final weekend in June. Their descent has mirrored issues in the rotation most exemplified by Mike Pelfrey’s crash and burn. Pelfrey, 1-5 with a 9.59 ERA in July, will pitch Wednesday against the Braves.
“I hate to sound like a recording, but we depend on our starting pitching,” said Wright. “I don’t want to knock the offense, but we’re not built to out-slug teams if we give up a lot of runs, kick the ball around and give teams extra outs.
“When we get solid pitching, we’ve been able to get hot and rattle off wins. That’s what we need this week and we need it starting [tonight] in Atlanta. When we’ve been good, we’ve been pretty good, but when we’ve been bad, we’ve been pretty bad, too.”
No kidding.
