Schwei: Closing Out Mets' Post-Break Misery At Citi Field
By John Schweibacher
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The Mets complete their 2012 home schedule this week a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Like the Mets, the Pirates' season has unraveled in the second half. Here's a list of the clubs with the worst records since the 2012 All-Star break:
•Cleveland 18-49 .267
•Houston 18-48 .272
•NY Mets 23-43 .348
•Toronto 23-41 .359
•Miami 25-43 .368
•Colorado 25-41 .379
•Chicago(NL) 26-41 .388
•Boston 26-41 .388
•Pittsburgh 27-39 .409
•Minnesota 28-39 .418
The Pirates are still looking to finish above .500 for the first time since 1992. The 19-year drought by Pittsburgh is the longest current streak of any team in the majors:
Last Season Above .500 :
•Pittsburgh 1992
•Kansas City 2003
•NY Mets 2008
•Houston 2008
•Cleveland 2008
Baltimore (1997) and Washington (2005) have already ended their droughts, having clinched .500-or-better seasons in 2012.
With their 82nd loss last week, the Mets are guaranteed to suffer their fourth consecutive sub-.500 season. It is just the fourth time in club history that the Mets will have gone at least four years in a row without a winning record:
•7: 1962-1968, 1977-1983
•6: 1991-1996
•4: 2009-2012
The Mets allowed a club-record eight runs in the first inning of their 16-1 loss to the Phillies last Thursday night. The Phils scored seven more times in the ninth which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, made them the first team in major-league history to score at least seven runs in both the first and ninth innings of a game. In fact, no team had scored as many as six times in the first and ninth innings since the Cubs did it in a 19-3 win over the Giants at the Polo Grounds on May 18, 1946.
The first and ninth innings have been the second- and third-worst for the Mets in terms of runs allowed this season (through game of 9/23):
Runs Allowed Per Inning:
•7th 88
•1st 79
•9th 78
•5th 77
•2nd 75
•3rd 71
•8th 69
•6th 61
•4th 56
Matt Harvey finished his 2012 stint with the Mets by posting the fourth-best earned run average by a Mets rookie who had made at least 10 starts:
•Jim McAndrew 2.28 1968
•Jon Matlack 2.32 1972
•Dwight Gooden 2.60 1984
•Matt Harvey 2.73 2012
•Tom Seaver 2.76 1967
Bobby Parnell got the win in relief in Sunday's 3-2 victory over the Marlins. The Mets have just seven wins at Citi Field since the all-star break and Parnell has two of them:
Mets Pitchers -- Wins Since All-Star Break:
•R.A. Dickey 3
•Jon Niese 2
•Bobby Parnell 2
Niese (4), Dickey (3), Parnell (3) and Dillon Gee (2) have the Mets' last 12 home wins, dating back to June 19, when Johan Santana beat the Orioles at Citi Field.
The Mets will begin their final road trip of 2012 with a three-game series this weekend in Atlanta. It will be the final time the Mets face future Hall-of-Famer and longtime nemesis Chipper Jones.
Here is where Chipper ranks on some of the Mets opponent leader boards:
Games vs. Mets:
•Pete Rose 335
•Lou Brock 290
•Mike Schmidt 268
•Andre Dawson 267
•Larry Bowa 258
•Willie Stargell 249
•Chipper Jones 242
Hits vs. Mets
•Pete Rose 396
•Lou Brock 289
•Chipper Jones 264
•Tony Gwynn 263
•Willie Davis 256
•Andre Dawson 256
Runs vs. Mets
•Pete Rose 207
•Chipper Jones 167
•Lou Brock 160
•Mike Schmidt 158
•Ryne Sandberg 148
Home Runs vs. Mets
•Willie Stargell 60
•Mike Schmidt 49
•Chipper Jones 49
•Willie McCovey 48
•Hank Aaron 45
RBIs vs. Mets
•Willie Stargell 182
•Mike Schmidt 162
•Chipper Jones 159
•Barry Bonds 140
•Andre Dawson 138
(thanks to UltimateMets.com for these stats)
Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:
Runs: Streak Stopped. The Mets 7-1 win over the Marlins Friday night ended their club-worst 16-game stretch of consecutive home games with three runs or fewer. The Mets three-run first that night was their first three-run inning at Citi Field since July 6.
Hits: Scott Hairston. Reaches new career-high in home runs with numbers 18 and 19 against Miami.
Errors: Blowout. Mets 16-1 loss to Phillies was the second most lopsided at home in club history, topped only by their 16-0 defeat vs. Atlanta back on July 2, 1999, at Shea.
Will the Mets close out their home string on a high note? Be heard in the comments below...
