Far more than Dae-Sung Koo’s mistake or even Heath Bell serving one up to Derrek Lee, the Mets’ downfall on Wednesday should be traced to their inability to get much accomplished against the powerful arm of Mark Prior. But rather than focus on how 5 of New York’s 8 everyday position players are hitting .250 or lower, let’s sock it to Mr. Koo.
From the New York Daily News’ Adam Rubin.
Dae-Sung Koo, responsible for facing lefty batters, botched his third late-game assignment of the road trip yesterday.
The southpaw, brought in to face Corey Patterson, walked him on four pitches to load the bases in the ninth, though Heath Bell bailed the Mets out of that jam by turning a 1-2-3 double play. “He can’t do that. That’s for sure,” Willie Randolph said. “That’s not why I brought him in.”
Koo, who declined comment, walked Geoff Jenkins in the ninth Friday in Milwaukee, then allowed a run-scoring single to Jeromy Burnitz and a three-run homer to Michael Barrett in the Cubs series opener Monday. Koo was left in to face the righty-hitting Barrett on Monday because he’s the lone lefty in the bullpen, and lefty-hitting Todd Hollandsworth was due up next.
Randolph professed his support for Koo. “It’s way too early to start overanalyzing what he’s doing and jumping ship,” the manager said. Still, the Mets have stockpiled southpaws at Triple-A Norfolk – Steve Colyer, Mike Matthews, Blake McGinley, Royce Ring and Scott Stewart.