Views from the Promenade

For the second time this week, the Mets had two or less hits in a game, this time courtesy of AJ Burnett and friends. I’m not sure what to say about that, really, other than that we either need to get used to getting shut out on a weekly basis (or worse), or the Mets need to bring in some hired guns.

On the bright side, the game ball goes to Alex Cora for preventing the Mets from being no-hit in their own stadium. The bullpen also did a nice job; hopefully Jerry Manuel notices that we have many arms that can get the job done, and can keep everyone fresh without falling into the trap of overusing guys like Bobby Parnell and Pedro Feliciano.

The Mets will look to take at least one game from the Yankees tomorrow night, on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

Update: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post just gave a great note on his Twitter feed. The last time the Mets had a total of four hits or less over a two game stretch? April 29-30, 1967. Hopefully, this year will turn out just a little better than that one.

It’s hard to blame the Mets offense for today’s 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Brian Schneider capped the effort with a huge three run homer in the 6th that temporarily gave the Mets the lead. Carlos Beltran and David Wright both contributed with multi-hit games, which is a good sign. While six runs is hardly an offensive explosion, it’s more than enough to win a game — provided your pitchers do their part.

Mike Pelfrey pitched an excellent four innings before falling apart in the 5th, when he allowed four runs on five hits. That would be the end of Pelfrey’s day, after which the Mets used six relievers to finish the game.

As I’m writing this, Jerry Manuel is giving a postgame press conference. He admits that Sean Green, Bobby Parnell and Pedro Feliciano having been overused, and that he needs to find a way to refresh the bullpen, which is absolutely correct. Over the last couple weeks, those three (along with Francisco Rodriguez) have been used almost to the complete exclusion of the other arms in the bullpen. Green and Parnell both looked gassed today, and while Feliciano pitched well, he’s already been used 40 times this season; it’s hard to imagine he can keep pitching effectively all year at that pace.

There are two ways to combat this. First, if the Mets can get just a little more length out of their starters, it’ll take a lot of the burden off of the bullpen. John Maine and Oliver Perez will be returning soon, and the Mets can only hope they’ll be effective.

More immediately, Manuel can start using the entire bullpen, not just his favorite guys. Brian Stokes, Ken Takahashi and Jon Switzer all pitched effectively today; Stokes and Switzer never got into trouble, and Takahashi managed to work out of a jam in the 7th, although he did give up a double to Gabe Kapler. Going to these guys more often — particularly Stokes and Takahashi, who I believe can be effective in the right situations — would help rest the key bullpen arms and keep them fresh for the critical spots where they’re needed most.