MET NOTES
PITTSBURGH – Melvin Mora heard a voice with the Mets up 7-6 in the top of the seventh and one out. He was at the plate with Todd Zeile at second and Robin Ventura at third.
“[Pirate catcher Jason] Kendall said ‘Squeeze,’ Mora recalled after the Mets’ 13-9 loss to the Pirates last night .
It was a squeeze, but Kendall said although he wouldn’t mind taking credit for the heads-up play, he didn’t call out.
“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t say anything,” Kendall said.
Whatever happened, Mora couldn’t get to winning pitcher Jose Silva’s outside delivery. The slow-footed Ventura didn’t have a chance and was run down, which, in effect, ended the rally as Rey Ordonez then struck out.
What was manager Bobby Valentine thinking on the play?
“Trying to get another run,” Valentine said. “Get a quick run with the best bunter on the team.”
Because of the Mets’ margin of defeat, this play, like the one concerning Mora in the field during the Bucs’ three-run sixth-inning, was lost a little bit.
Turk Wendell appeared to have stranded a man on second with two-out in the sixth. This would’ve kept the score at 6-5 Mets. However, Adrian Brown hit a ball that had crazy spin on it toward left center and it just got away from Mora and died.
“He’s got to catch that ball,” said Valentine, who added he’s never seen a ball do that before. “I think 99 times out of 100 times he will.”
Mora agreed saying, “Yeah, I should have had it easy. That was a big run.”
It made it 6-6 after six innings.
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Todd Zeile’s seventh-inning RBI double that gave the Mets a 7-6 lead in the top of the seventh was his first hit in his last 19 at-bats.
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Dennis Springer, the 35-year-old knuckleballer, accepted his assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. This means the Mets have 39 players on their 40-man roster. This sets up the possibility of a two-for-one trade.
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John Franco came in during the bottom of the eighth inning and allowed two runs last night. They were the first runs Franco had allowed in his last 11 innings. That dates back to that Dodger game April 9 when Franco blew a 5-1 ninth-inning lead.
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Lefty reliever Rich Rodriguez didn’t seem upset about reports that he, too, has recently been put on waivers.
No one claimed the 37-year-old Rodriguez, who is scheduled to make $1.6 million over the next two seasons. Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning last night to drop his ERA to 7.58.
Rodriguez, whom GM Steve Phillips signed in January as a free agent, said that it is part of being a major leaguer.
“Everybody has to go through waivers,” Rodriguez said.