Charlie Klein
It is truly rare to see teams lose the way that the New York Mets lost their game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers last night at Dodger Stadium. In a 2-2 tie during the top of the eighth inning it looked as though the Mets had made their comeback as Angel Pagan had appeared to have tripled Ryan Church home. Further replays showed Church failed to touch third base on his frantic run home.
What may be lost in all of this is the Mets horrid defensive play in this young season. The Mets are 28th in the Majors in field percentage and third in total errors committed. During last night's game five errors were committed by Met's players. It is quite miraculous that Church was even in a position to score a go-ahead run.
The excuses by Mets players and the blogosphere have been oftentimes linked to the difficulty of playing outfield in the new Citi Field, yet games such as last night's point to an alternate reality. Dodger Stadium is not known to be a park in which fielders have difficulty making the most routine plays. Ramon Martinez, plucked fresh off the farm in lieu of Jose Reyes' injury committed two errors, one by simply failing to use two hands to field a simple groundball. To show the pandemic nature of the Mets poor fielding, one may only look to Carlos Beltran. The Mets Gold Glove Center Fielder committed two errors of his own Monday night including one that led to the Dodgers winning in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Considering the manner in which the Mets have been playing defensively it is remarkable that they are tied atop the NL East with bitter rival Philadelphia. The Mets are 12-5 in their last 17 which shows their resiliency in the face of adversity. With Carlos Delgado facing surgery that is to keep him out of play for at least the next eight weeks, the Metropolitans are scrambling to cover for his loss. Fernando Tatis looks to become the everyday First Baseman in Delgado's absence. It is every Amazin's fan's dream that Jose Reyes can return to the lineup to offer his bat as well as some better defensive play than what has been offered by Ramon Martinez
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