Defeat the Empire

Hell, sometimes, a pitcher just shuts you down, and one of the National League's best did so to the Mets tonight. But tonight was a bit more frustrating, for a variety of reasons.

First, I didn't know who to root for in the Philly/Yankee game. I still don't. The Phillies are way back in the NL East as of now, but I like that 10-game loss column cushion. Yet, the instinctual hatred of the Yankees usually got the best of me as I flipped to YES between innings of the Met game.

Second, Arroyo should be in Boston. The trade dealing him for Wily Mo Pena was retarded, I said that at the time, and I'll say it again. Granted, Arroyo's ERA wouldn't be 2.47 if he was dealing in the AL East, but he'd still probably be Boston's best starter. He'd certainly be a marked improvement over some of the retreads that have taken the hill for Beantown in '06.

And third, I hate the bunt in the first inning with Reyes on second and nobody out. Why hand a pitcher an out when he hasn't proven he can get one? And why his Lo Duca second in the order if he can't be trusted to swing away in the 1st inning? Lo Duca hardly ever strikes out and can hit the ball to the right side on cue, so it makes little sense to me to bunt, give away the out and take any any chance of a base hit from Lo Duca.

I might catch some flak for this, but I don't like Lo Duca. He entered tonight's game with a hitting percentage line of .280/.325/.385. (All three are a tick lower after an 0-for-3 from him tonight.) The last two, which incidently are the most important two, indicate Lo Duca is below league average in slugging percentage and on base percentage. There's absolutely no reason for a 34-year-old with no speed and a .320 OBP to be batting second. I don't want to hear BS about how he can take a pitch for Reyes to steal, either; that isn't an instinctive skill, and can be learned by just about any baseball player within a few ABs.

But hell, we're still 43-26 and in the driver's seat. It's just that we could be and should be better.