It is true the team can use a spare part or three, though honestly, starting pitching isn't quite the first priority. Overreliance on forty three year old John Franco, who just snapped and purposely (?) hit a batter after giving up a home run to the same guy for the second time in a week (Franco was tossed), is an example. All the same, errors in judgment, like setting himself up for the fall (walk the guy!) helps. And, again, no real fifth starter didn't help, but lack of hitting and errors is what truly doomed the team all too often. It put stress on a bullpen that with a break now and again would have been able to do the job.
The team has potential. I just don't think it will shine under Art Howe's watch, who Oakland got rid of after one two many losses in the first round of the playoffs. Put him on a team with a few more problems, and you are just asking for trouble, even if the pitching coach will supply talent good enough to tempt fans to hope.
Ah well, it was nice Zeile got his dream to pitch. Role players like Todd (due to retire) make the game enjoyable, and deserve to try other roles once in a while. He did pitch an inning a few years ago for Colorado (no runs), the same team that got a win from an (injured) catcher vs. the Braves. It was noted in the paper that the Expos manager doesn't like the use position players as pitchers, so that might factor in to the five runs Zeile gave up. Other outings by position players in similar situations weren't as messy.
It has come to this. At the beginning of a long home stand in which the Mets faced the entire NL East, the Phillies in a four game set and the rest in sets of two, first place was within spitting distance. Again. They lost a couple winnable games. Managed to hang on to beat the lowly Expos. Lost to them. Lost to the Braves, most recently via errors by newbies and their error prone shortstop. The Braves also -- as predictable as the sun rising in the east -- are now in first place by a game and a half, their back end guy beating the other team's ace today. The Phillies? Choke Choke.
And, now the coup de grace (?) -- a 19-10 loss to those same Expos. Scott Erickson's last (very good) start, his first since his first attempt in April was cut short when he got hurt in warm-ups, was wasted by errors and the bullpen. This one, vs those scary 37-61 Expos, lasted two innings (six earned runs). Or, one more than Todd Zeile, who closed things out in the eighth (thankfully the game wasn't at home, saving the team an inning), with a line of IP, 4H 5R 2BB, or akin to the third inning of actual reliever, Dan Wheeler (one less earned run, but two more walks).
When a 38 year old first/third baseman closes things out, you know something is wrong. It is kind of in bad taste, especially since Bobby Valentine is not around any more, to add on runs like that when you are up 14-8, isn't it? To add insult to injury, of course, the Mets still managed ten runs. How about this -- the Expos starting pitcher went 4.2 innings, failing to get a decision because he was unable to get another batter out. The score was 12-5 at the time.
47-51 ... time to climb back once again? Can one truly get much lower than this, after all? Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks ended their fourteen game losing streak. The talk is that Randy Johnson might be traded (seriously, might not happen), since it's not like the team is scoring runs for the guy anyway (eight shutout innings, no decision, last time). Also, they want to protect their "worst team in baseball" bona fides, and you never know when the Kansas City Royals will go into a total tailspin.
Are the Mets playing them soon?