Mike Attack, August 26, 2008

By Mike McGann
Posted Tuesday, August 26, 2008

As Mack is now on indefinite, possibly permanent hiatus (and we cannot thank him enough for everything he’s done here) — we will continue to hobble through the minor league season in this format, with changes coming in September to a weekly notebook style — and possibly a division of labor. More to come on that issue.

Losses:

Cubs 50
Brewers 55
Mets 59
Phillies 59
Cardinals 59

So much for John Maine’s day being pivotal. All you needed to see was he righthander emptying the contents of his locker into a cardboard box at Shea yesterday afternoon to know the story.

Officially, Maine isn’t to pick up a baseball for two weeks — and then and only then can he trying rehab work. But the reality of the matter is this: offseason surgery to get rid of the bone spur and very little chance of him pitching for the Mets again this season. The Mets seem ready to tab rookies Bobby Parnell or Jon Niese to take over as fifth starter, instead of running out the usual collection of has-beens and not-quites. Only the emergence of Mike Pelfrey — now with two straight complete-game wins (the first Met to do so since Bret “Bleach Bottle” Saberhagen did it in 1995) and resurgence of Pedro Martinez make this anything but a disaster for the Mets.

With the bullpen still in tatters — closer Billy Wagner’s sore elbow remains a major concern — anything short of exceptional starting pitching could doom the playoff run against a Phillies’ team that continues to show it will not fold down the stretch.

The good news — at least for fans of infielder Argenis Reyes — was that Maine’s move the DL bought time for the middle infielder despite the activation of Luis Castillo. The way the rotation falls, the team will not likely need a fifth starter until Sept. 2, a day after rosters expand — so the “other” Reyes is likely to stay with the big club through the rest of the regular season.

New Orleans
Ruddy Lugo was touched for four runs in the first inning — continuing a less than impressive 2008 (7-12, 5.36) as Omaha bombed New Orleans, 8-2. Chris Aguila his his 27th home run of the season for one of the few bright spots of the night for the Zephyrs.

Binghamton
The B-Mets, a game and a half out of a playoff spot, were off last night. They travel to New Hampshire tonight.

St. Lucie
St. Lucie’s game against Daytona was rained out, again. The Mets hope to play Palm Beach tonight.

Gnats
Savannah moved out of last place in the SAL Southern Division with a 4-1 win over Charleston. Michael Olmstead, freshly up from Kingsport, pitched five strong innings, scattering three hits and no runs in his Sally League debut. Casey Craig, who’s quietly put together a solid season for the Gnats (.288, 5, 49) had three hits and two RBI.

Clones
Brooklyn beat Tri-City, 5-4, in 11 innings after a Jordan Abruzzo RBI double in the top of the 11th put the Brooks ahead for good.

The Cyclones took the lead in the 10th when Juan Legares scored on a wild pitch. But Stephen Clyne, the eventual vulture winner, couldn’t hold the lead in bottom of the 10th.

K-Port
Kingsport was shut out by Greenville, 4-0.