MET NOTES
OAKLAND – Three up and three down. Not a bad Met debut for Danny Graves.
Graves, the righty reliever who recently joined the team, pitched the seventh inning in the Mets’ 5-0 loss to the A’s on Tuesday night, seeing his first action with his new club.
Graves faced three of Oakland’s best hitters – Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby and Keith Ginter – and got a grounder back to the mound, a grounder to short and a grounder to third, respectively.
“I definitely was pleased of the outcome of my pitches,” Graves said after the game.
The Mets seemed happy, too. Manager Willie Randolph sounded confident that Graves can be a contributor, although he cautioned that it’s only been one outing.
“It’s just one quick inning, but I’ve got a good feeling about him,” Randolph said. “I think once we get him in a rhythm a little bit, I think he can help us.
“He’s a guy that’s intriguing to me because he’s been there and done a lot of things, and if we can get him going in the right direction, he could be a tremendous asset to our staff.
“So I was pleased with it, but I need to see him in a few more games to really know for sure what he can do for us.”
Graves was terrible with the Reds this year – he logged a 7.36 ERA in 20 games – but he already is pitching differently with the Mets.
“I changed my hands in my set position, where it’s more natural now the way I’m throwing,” Graves said. “Before, which I never realized, I was kind of fighting against my own body to pitch, and I think that’s why a lot of the balls I threw in the past were up in the zone.”
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David Wright went into last night with 11 errors, tied for the most among MLB third basemen with Minnesota’s Michael Cuddyer. But Chavez, the Oakland third baseman who’s won the last four Gold Gloves in the AL, said on Tuesday that miscues at third base are going to happen.
“Of any position on the field . . . you’re going to have the most errors at third,” Chavez said. “It’s just the reality. It’s just the way some of the balls are hit. Especially a young guy not knowing hitters. It’s just going to be a little bit of a process.”
