As I always say, correlation doesn't imply causation, but the numbers are incredibly stark. In his first 11 starts, culminating with his 134-pitch no-hitter, Santana had a 2.38 ERA and 1.029 WHIP, with a 3.2:1 K:BB ratio. In his 8 starts since then, he has a 6.54 ERA and 1.641 WHIP, with a 2.2:1 K:BB ratio. Five of those 8 starts have been off-the-charts awful (11.51 ERA, 2.118 WHIP, averaging less than 5 IP in those starts). You have to start wondering if Collins was actually right that he was killing Santana's season when he kept him in there.
I dont know if it was the no hitter or just the fact that it's his first season back and he's tiring.
Using Dickey in relief is idiotic - throwing on the side is nothing like throwing in a game. Not to mention that he's been pretty bad in the last month anyway, so it's pretty much pointless. The Mets should bring up every no-name they have in the minors and throw them into the bullpen, not waste their only good starter left. Collins and Alderson are both doing a good job of giving back the good that happened earlier in the year.
A lot of people give Collins credit for his demeanor and his attitude. However, he's a horrible in game manager.
I fell asleep during the later innings and luckily did not see Dickey enter the game. (The sandman came because I was tired, not because the Mets were boring me). I don't understand this week. Batista had been slated to start today for at least 4 days. It must have been Monday or Tuesday when that decision was made. At least publically. Privately, it was probably made earlier. So what happened? Batista pitched in relief during the week. That was dumb in my opinion. I don't care if he has a rubber arm or if the attitude was "he's old; if he blows his arm out, we don't care". Then Dickey coming in to pitch today? Dumb. The Mets played above their heads for over half the season and will now slide. The season could have been a lot worse. I still think a Francoeur & Broxton for Duda and something or other 2-for-2 or 2-for-3 deal is worth a shot. I betcha Broxton would not handle New York well, but he is a free agent after the season and if he sucks who cares. If Duda and a mid level prospect or two goes to KC, big whoop. Other than that, fuck it. I don't want good prospects getting traded for the Mets to make the playoffs as a Wild Card and have a 50/50 shot at elimination in that one game playoff.
Well, I think the bolded sentence above is much less black and white than you're saying - the Cardinals showed last year that if you can get to the postseason you do it, since at that point anyone can win it all. The problem is that there's no realistic way the Mets could actually get enough to make the playoffs. Obviously you don't trade Harvey or Wheeler, but otherwise, if they were only a player or two away from a realistic shot at the second wild card spot I'm not sure I wouldn't listen to offers for anyone else. Unfortunately, they're a lot farther away than that, so it's not worth it.
I would normally want the Mets to embrace getting into the playoffs as a wild card (assuming a division title was not realistic). I would want the Mets to take the chance at winning that game. Problem is, they are too far away talent-wise and Alderson would destroy the future if he made trades this month that would give the team an excellent shot at the '12 postseason. In other words, I agree.
The surprise, of course, is the 4 scoreless innings the bullpen had, not that they blew up in the 12th. I'm going to the game on Wednesday, and to be honest, I have little hope of seeing anything pleasant at this point.
He pitched yesterday, so it would be his day on Thursday. I think they don't want to start him at home. His first 3 starts will be on the road trip.
