The whole Nye Mets squadron couldn't get the job done last night, with a team LOB of 10. And El Duque certainly did not help his cause with a couple of balks, but he made up for it with a mean triple. Two things stood out late in the game:
- Cliff Floyd couldn't even get a bat on the ball, much less execute a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
- Willie Randolph called for Jose Valentin to sacrifice bunt after Lastings Milledge led off the eighth inning with a walk.
Dear Willie Randolph:
What were you thinking, calling for 'Stache to bunt? There were no outs. The guy has been hot lately, and he showed us a couple of games ago that he has trouble getting the bunt down (a lack of fundamentals, certainly, but we can talk about that issue another time). That leadoff walk was a gift, and you for some reason decided you didn't want it.
Come on, Willie, it's not like the game was tied--your team was down one run, and you'd need at least two to win. Lastings has speed on the bases. Why not let your guys swing the bat? After that walk, the stage was set for what could have been a big inning. The failed sacrifice just killed it. Will you ever learn that outs are precious, especially late in close games when your team is behind? Your team was down one run, Willie... Why were you playing for a tie?
Warm regards,
King Critical