ATLANTA – Almost, almost, yesterday became something for Steve Trachsel to write home about in application for a start every sixth day.
Never mind a letter could have been mailed on Andruw Jones’s 452-foot fourth-inning homer, the longest ever by a Brave at Turner Field and yet another crank of the rack to which the Mets remain tied in this, their chamber of horrors. Two runs allowed by Trachsel over seven innings had his team tied regardless, thanks to Ramon Castro delivering the deep fly ball in the eighth that, an inning earlier, Carlos Beltran could not.
So, after 96 pitches, back to the mound for the eighth went Trachsel, the game his to win again, except he didn’t. Rafael Furcal punched a leadoff single, and after Marcus Giles popped up a bunt and Willie Randolph went to the mound to hear Trachsel say he wanted to face Chipper Jones but wanted no part of Andruw again, the pitcher threw his favorite Jones a center field home run.
It barely landed in the first row to appropriately win a game in which the little things went the Braves’ way, largely because the division leaders are better at them than the team now three games back in the wild-card loss column with 25 to play.
No small part of that edge may be a 12-time division-winning manager, Bobby Cox, over a rookie skipper who generally has not distinguished himself in his pitching decisions. But Trachsel, who threw 108 pitches 12 days ago in San Francisco in a brilliant two-hit season debut off back surgery, did not look gassed yesterday. So where is the blame for trying to save a day of work for the overworked, 40-year-old Roberto Hernandez, or for not trusting the same guys who blew Saturday night’s game in Florida?
“When pitchers pitch good games, I believe in giving them the opportunity to win,” Randolph said. “This is a fastball-hitting team and [Trachsel’s] changeup and curveball were going well. He had plenty of rest and his pitch count was good.”
A better second guess was putting Trachsel – trailing 2-1 in the seventh with Victor Diaz on first with a leadoff single – up to bunt and pop out, just as big a factor in that donut inning as Jeff Francoeur’s throw-out of Diaz at the plate on Beltran’s medium fly ball.
It was the rookie’s 11th assist in 48 games since his call-up, one argument against sending Diaz. Another would be Cliff Floyd being next up, but we’re not going there, not after only bang-bang did Diaz prove dead. Hardly reason to take third-base coach Manny Acta out to shoot him. But a fate recommended for the manager, if, in five days, Trachsel isn’t starting.
“I have no idea,” Trachsel smiled sardonically when asked if yesterday helped build his case not won in San Francisco.
The only reason to keep him hanging is his smugness. His excuse for not being anxious to help his team out of the bullpen – it takes him too long to warm up – had some logic and too much convenience.
As Dirty Harry Callahan once said, man’s got to know his limitations, sure. But a pitcher with a 118-131 (4.23) career record also has to know his place in rejoining a team that hadn’t particularly missed him, Victor Zambrano’s inconsistencies only recently becoming an exception.
Zambrano, who after a terrific two months, has pitched into the seventh inning only three times in his last seven starts, hardly eliminated the competition Friday with four runs in five innings. Randolph has Pedro Martinez going tonight, Tom Glavine Wednesday night, and I-Don’t-Know pitching Thursday night (Zambrano’s day) and through the St. Louis series.
“I’m not ready to say,” said the manager before conceding Trachsel was one of the X-factors. Kris Benson could start Thursday on five full days’ rest, so, it’s time to make the change, whether there is time enough left for the Mets or not.
WILD-CARD RACE
TEAM REC GB
Astros 73-64 –
Phillies 73-65 1/2
Marlins 72-65 1
Nationals 72-66 1 1/2
Mets 70-67 3