Mets Defeat Reds 2-1 On Opening Day
A Look At The New York Mets' Performance In The Season's First Game
A look at the good and the bad coming out of the Mets Opening Day victory over the Reds in Cincinnati.
The Mets' Good Performances
Young phenom Daniel Murphy had a very good game. He homered and drove in both runs in the Mets victory. He also played well in the field, making a nice catch on a hard hit ball to left center.
Johan Santana showed why he is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. In cold and rainy conditions, he went 5 2/3 innings allowing just one run. Going back to last season, he has now won his last 10 decisions.
Ryan Church, who is now looking over his shoulder with the arrival of Gary Sheffield, had an excellent game. Church, who was the Mets' best player before his concussion problems last season, had two hits and made an excellent play in the field. He recorded an outfield assist, doubling a runner off of first, after a nice juggling, diving catch.
The bullpen was excellent, pitching 3 1/3 hitless innings. This was what General Manager Omar Minaya envisioned when he acquired Sean Green, J.J. Putz, and Francisco Rodriguez. The happiest guy in New York must be Johan Santana, who had the bullpen blow seven leads for him last year.
The Mets had a balanced attack. Everyone in the lineup got a hit except for Brain Schneider and the pitcher's spot.
David Wright showed why he is a Gold Glover, making a great pick on a smash to third, getting up and firing the ball on the money to first for the out.
The Mets' Need for Improvement
The Mets continue to struggle in clutch situations. They went just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners. They got away with it today, but against good teams, it will come back to haunt them.
David Wright picked up where he left off last season with his struggles in the clutch. In the very first inning, he struck out with a runner on third and less than two out.
Speaking of Wright, he continues to have his problems running the bases. In the fifth inning he hit a blooper that fell in and settled for single. With his speed, had he been running hard out of the box, he would have been on second. Later in the inning, he got a poor break off second base on a single by Carlos Beltran, and wound up being thrown out at the plate. Then, in the ninth inning, representing what could have big a big insurance run, he got picked off of first base. Wright needs to do a better job running the bases, something that was a problem for him last year as well. You can't assume anything on the bases, you have to run hard on every play and you can't stray too far off first when taking your lead.
Outlook for the Mets
Overall the good outweighed the bad on Opening Day for the Mets. The biggest thing to come out of the game was the great performance of the bullpen, a far cry from the mess that was last year's bullpen. They got the win, too, which is the important thing. One game does not a season make, however, and if the Mets hope to win a World Series this year, they must start hitting in the clutch and guys like Wright need to stop making foolish mistakes on the bases. Those things will kill you in big games against upper echelon teams.
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