NewsSheffield having quite an impact on Mets
Washington (13-31) at New York (24-20), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble and Tim Britton / MLB.com
05/26/09 2:20 AM ET
NEW YORK -- When the Mets signed Gary Sheffield on April 3, most of the talk centered on how the 40-year-old would adapt to a more limited playing schedule.Suffice it to say that "limited" hasn't been the best word to describe Sheffield's impact on the Mets so far. The veteran outfielder has become the everyday cleanup hitter, filling the void left by the injured Carlos Delgado.
Sheffield cranked his fourth home run of the season on Monday night, a three-run blast that broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Mets to a 5-2 victory over the Nationals. It was the Mets' third win in four games, a streak that coincides with Sheffield's return to the lineup following a brief bout with food poisoning.
Since returning on Friday in Boston, Sheffield is 5-for-12 with two home runs and six RBIs.
"When they put me fourth, I said to myself, 'I have to be a complete hitter,' " Sheffield said. "Nobody expected Delgado to be out, and especially [Jose] Reyes. Baseball, you never know. You have to have the depth to put guys in that can do the job."
The contributions of such reserves as Sheffield have helped the Mets overcome injuries to Delgado, Reyes, right fielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider -- half of the team's starting position players on Opening Day.
Lately it's been the backups providing the power in the Mets' lineup, with reserve catchers Omir Santos and Ramon Castro joining Sheffield as the only Mets to homer in the team's last 11 contests.
"He has been a presence in the middle of the lineup," manager Jerry Manuel said of Sheffield. "But I did not envision him as a six-out-of-six-games-a-week player at this point in his career. That's kind of what we're asking from him at this point because of all the day-to-day issues that we have."
Sheffield will continue to be a big part of the lineup, with Delgado out for two months and fellow outfielders Church and Carlos Beltran still day to day. Beltran, who has yet to miss a game despite a right knee contusion, is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.
The injuries have Sheffield playing every day in the outfield, something he hasn't done since 2006. Still, he doesn't feel fatigued, joking that he feels only 35 after the game.
"I'm just keeping everything in perspective, doing the job while someone else is out and holding down the fort until they get back," he said.
The Mets are also asking for more from their pitching staff to compensate for the holes in the lineup. John Maine provided the team's sixth quality start in its last eight contests last night, limiting Washington to a run on four hits in six innings.
In those last eight games, Mets' starters have compiled a 3.67 ERA.
"It's not something you think about or dwell upon, but everyone realizes it," Maine said of the added pressure on the pitching staff.
On Tuesday, Livan Hernandez will attempt to equal his performance from last Wednesday, when he allowed one run on seven hits in seven innings in Los Angeles.
"Our pitchers have to carry us at this point," Manuel said.
Pitching matchup
NYM: RHP Livan Hernandez (3-1, 4.93 ERA)
Though Hernandez again pitched quite effectively his last time out, he couldn't gain a third straight victory on Wednesday against the Dodgers. Instead he left that game locked in a tie, ultimately taking a no-decision. He won twice in two starts against the Nationals last season, allowing seven runs in 13 innings. Washington hitters Austin Kearns, Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham are a combined 23-for-58 (.397) against him. WSH: RHP Craig Stammen (0-0, 5.68 ERA)
Stammen made his Major League debut in his last start, on Thursday, and it was a success for the most part. He lasted 6 1/3 innings and gave up four runs, throwing 95 pitches, 57 of which went for strikes. He didn't allow a baserunner for four innings and didn't have a three-ball count until his 21st batter. His catcher, Josh Bard, drove in two of the Nats' three runs, but it wasn't the RBIs that made Stammen comfortable on the mound -- it was having Bard behind the plate. The two worked together at Triple-A Syracuse. Tidbits
Sheffield's home run on Monday was the 503rd of his career. His total is the 25th highest in big league history. Eddie Murray hit 504. ... The Mets have hit five three-run homers. Sheffield has one, Delgado two, and David Wright and Beltran one each. ... The Mets have won 14 of their last 21 games and seven of their last nine home games. ... Maine has a 7-2 career record against the Nationals. ... The Mets have 15 home runs and 14 triples at Citi Feld.
Francisco Rodriguez converted his 13th straight save opportunity on Monday. He and -- believe it or not -- Anthony Young are the only two pitchers in franchise history to begin their Mets tenures with 13 straight conversions. K-Rod pitched for the first time since enduring back spasms on Saturday.
"I feel some discomfort," Rodriguez said. "Tightness. Sore. A little bit of pain."
Beltran had two hits, one a double, and an RBI, his 31st. He leads the team with one more than Wright. ... Pedro Feliciano retired Adam Dunn on a pop to right field with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. He has limited opponents to a .103 batting average with runners on base. Dunn had six hits in nine at-bats against him before the pop. ... Schneider caught nine innings in an extended spring game in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Monday. The Mets believe that he needs to catch at least two more games before being activated. ... General manager Omar Minaya said that Oliver Perez is expected to pitch at least five innings in a rehab start in Buffalo on Tuesday.
This date in Mets history, May 26: Borrowing a script once used regularly by the Yankees, the Mets announced one year ago on this date that they would not change managers. Willie Randolph was in place in the dugout, wearing No. 12, when the Mets played the first-place Marlins, with his job security seemingly much as it had been before a long afternoon meeting with owner Fred Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon and Minaya, who had hired him following the 2004 season.
For the second time in less than eight months, Randolph had sat in front of a microphone in what used to be the Jets' locker room, having side-stepped what people within and outside the organization had seen as a near sack. Minaya said that Randolph's job was not in jeopardy and recited the term of his contract -- expiration after the 2009 season: "Willie's the manager, as I said. ... Willie's our manager," Minaya said. "Willie has a contract for next year. I am hoping that Willie will be the manager for many years to come.
"There is no limbo. Willie is the manager. And Willie, as I said this weekend, has the support of ownership and the support of the general manager. When you don't win in this town -- and going into the season across the board a lot of guys had us as the best team in the league -- when you don't win, yes, there's tension in the team. Tension is created. ... Our fans expect us to have a good team. All the experts, across the board, if you look at all the predictions before the year, most of them had the New York Mets being the best team."
The Mets lost to the Marlins that night, but won 11 of their next 19 games before Randolph was replaced by Manuel.
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• Wednesday: Mets (Johan Santana, 6-2, 1.50) vs. Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann, 2-1, 5.71), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 4-1, 4.31) vs. Marlins (Sean West, 0-0, 3.60), 7:10 p.m. ET
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
