Game #57: Braves 6, Mets 3

Jose Reyes of the New York Mets reacted after an error against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Friday night. (NYTimes.com)

Same story, different names.

Jon Niese pitched 7 2/3 solid innings, but once again the bullpen couldn't hold the win down, and the Mets let another win slip away, this time 6-3 to the Braves.

The Bad Stuff:

• See Games 50, 51, 54, 55.

The Good Stuff:

• Again, see Games 50, 51, 54, 55.

Final Analysis:
Same old song and dance. This time, the Mets set a major-league record for futility: tonight was their sixth straight home loss when leading in the 7th inning or later. Yeah. That's right.

Hard to work with a two-game sample, but it looks like the post-Terry Collins explosion inspirational turnaround was over after yesterday. He said things have to change? I've got some suggestions:

1. Get Jason Bay out of the 4-spot. He went 0-3 and struck out in the 8th inning (it's really bad that I called it). He's had 3 extra-base hits and 7 RBIs in the past 33 games. And he's still batting cleanup?!?! Open your eyes, Terry! This is too huge a hole to ignore!
2. Let your starters finish what they've started. You had Jon Niese pitching like a man on fire, and a batter (Dan Uggla) hitting under Mendoza. Yes, he's a righty to Niese's lefty, so you bring in 38-year-old Jason Isringhausen for his 7th appearance in 9 games. He walks the guy, which leads to a tie ballgame. If your starter is still hot, let him get the last guy! It was Niese's game to win, so let him win it.

You say things need to change. So change them. At this point, what have we got to lose?

MM