Four Straight

I can't blame Guillermo Mota for this one. Can't blame Willie, Delgado, or even Shawn Green. The usual scapegoats are gone.

The lack of scapegoats crippled the Mets this evening, as they lost 3-1 to the Phillies in absolutely heartbreaking fashion. You'd think losing on a Ryan Howard walk-off shot with Mota on the hill would be rough.

But you haven't seen the wrath of C.B. Bucknor.

While pinch-hitter Marlon Anderson is probably absolved of blame on account of a hit that put the Mets in good position to tie, he was obviously trying to interfere with second baseman Tadahito Iguchi. But he's a veteran! Keith would say that he has tailor-made fundamentals, or something.

And obviously you would know that Shawn Green, slower than MetroNorth, would actually have made it safely to first, and Endy would have crossed the plate, and the game would have been tied. The Mets would have beaten wife-beating Brett Myers.

But Marlon Anderson thought it best to make up for Pearl Harbor with his pugilistic skills at second base, and Iguchi acted with the adeptness of a seasoned veteran of the West End.

So, we're here. The lead is three, gentlemen, and we're headed to Atlanta for the weekend. Color me scared.

Durbed

Durb your enthusiasm. I'm back, but the Mets are taking a little bit of a vacation.

Sure, they didn't play like their overrated Bronx counterparts, who witnessed the magic of Mike Mussina and Quality Veteran Pitching, en route to being three-hit by Justin Verlander and losing 16-0.

The Mets learned a little bit about why the Quality Veteran Pitching doesn't buy you much tonight. Brian Lawrence, a Quality Veteran Pitcher himself, the former ace of the 64-98 2003 San Diego Padres, took the hill against J.D. Durbin, a pitcher with 7 starts to his career ledger and a 5.68 career ERA.

Who won? It should have been Lawrence, the Quality Veteran Pitcher, the one who was promoted by the Mets despite having zero upside and a fastball that would be lucky to touch 85 on the gun.

The Mets didn't want to lose him on account of his opt-out clause should another club offer him a major league deal. Lawrence would be a major loss: a 3.87 ERA in AAA is impossible to replicate. So they promoted him and let him take the fifth starter spot. Jorge Sosa was slipping, and Mike Pelfrey wasn't going to hold it either.

Fair enough. I was all for Lawrence getting the first shot. And he looked okay, at times.

But now, this is a nightmare that just won't end. Thank Moises that Pedro is on his way. He nearly beat the Class A Palm Beach Cardinals tonight!

However, Pedro isn't your ordinary Quality Veteran Pitcher. He throws a filthy changeup and curve, and also happens to have three Cy Young Awards and is two strikeouts away from three thousand.

Brian Lawrence has a career ERA+ of 95 and once was the ace for some last-place Padre teams, and, well, things didn't go as well as planned tonight.

J.D. Durbin held the Mets hitless through four innings, and shut 'em down afterwards.

I love Quality Veteran Pitchers, don't you?