Well, that was unexpected. Willie Randolph assembled what is likely the weakest lineup of the season to face a recently-respectable Randy Johnson. Well, that motley crew of Reyes, Beltran, Wright and a slew of backups, role players and shouldn't-be-starters battered the Big Unit for eight hits and eight earned runs over six innings. Perhaps, not to mention three walks and a should-have-been hit-by-pitch of Xavier Nady.
Yesterday, I said:
What's the likelihood that Trachsel's ERA will still be better than Unit's after this game is over?Before the game, and especially after the lineups were posted, I would have said "not very likely". The Mets have made a habit of proving me wrong over the years, and Trachsel's ERA is now a full half-run better than Johnson's.
Its probably too early to tell whether Julio Franco's recent string of starts has exposed a weakness in his game -- that is, maybe he's only effective in limited use -- but the Old Man has been uninspiring at the plate over the past week-and-a-half. Since his start on June 22 against the Reds, Franco is hitting .227/.292/.364 in 22 at-bats over six starts. Everyone is entitled to a bad week (or month), but the thought of Franco as a regular player isn't a comforting one. This is to take nothing away from Franco's addition to this ballclub, as he has been a spectacular pinch hitter, a model citizen and a calming presence to everyone on this ballcub.
It was nice to see Billy Wagner mow down the Yankees in the ninth. He hadn't pitched in almost a week and he set down Cairo, Damon and Jeter in order, striking out the first two and getting Jetes to ground out weakly to first. Though, he should really only get credit for two outs since Miguel Cairo continues to be one of the most useless players in all of baseball. He's making $1 million this year, folks. He's batting .224/.280/.284. That's life.