Opening Day: Mets 2 - Reds 1

Today is opening day for baseball. I got to work a little early so I could bolt around lunch time to catch the Mets @ Reds game on TV. The game wound up being delayed 30 minutes due to 45F temps and rain/snow/sleet/whatever.

The pitching matchup was Johan Santana(0-0, 0.00ERA) vs Aaron Harang (0-0, 0.00ERA).

Final score: 2-1, Mets
Win: Johan Santana (1-0, 1.59ERA)
Loss: Aaron Harang (0-1, 1.80ERA)
Save: Francisco Rodriguez (1)

Comments on the game:

-Johan didn't really have it going early. He probably was having difficulty getting a feel for the ball with the temps hovering around 45F. He walked 4, which is unusual for him, and his slider kept missing high. Once he had the lead, however, Santana turned it up a notch, as always. :) He carried a 2-1 lead into the end of the 6th.

-Given the lack of command, Santana threw a lot of pitches. A surprise move had Manual taking him out of the game with two outs in the 6th. He was up around 99 pitches with a runner on base and Edwin Encarnacion coming to bat. Encarnacion has been a nemesis for Santana, so that probably helped Manual pull the trigger. Also, why work your ace more than necessary on a cold day when you have a bullpen you trust?

-The bullpen was stellar. Sean Green came in and got the final out of the 6th on a hard line drive caught by Murphy in left-center. Green pitched a nice, quick 7th giving way to our other new relievers, JJ Putz and K-Rod. Putz pitched around a walk in the 8th and K-Rod ended a perfect 9th with a strikeout.

-Last year's Mets bullpen would have blown a one run lead without hesitation.

-Dan Murphy, the rookie left fielder, provided all the offense we needed and some nice defense. He hit a solo homerun off Harang in the 5th, and had an RBI groundout in the 6th. In the bottom of the 6th, the line drive from Encarnacion looked as if it would be a double in the gap, but Murphy took a tough rout to the ball and made what appeared to be a difficult catch.

-Final note, which is also a concern, is that our offense left 11 men on base in the first 6 innings, then went down quietly for the rest of the game. There were so many missed opportunities in this game. I know we're going to score a lot of runs like last year, but there were so many games last year that we could have blown open with one timely hit.


Despite our offensive struggles, I'm a lot more confident about this team now than at the end of last season. I can't wait to watch Mike Pelfrey's first start of the year on Wednesday.