POSTGAME: Pirates 8, Mets 5

The Mets (28-22) lost to the Pirates (23-28) by a final score of 8 to 5. Once ahead by five runs, New York allowed the Pirates to come from behind with three runs in the fourth and five runs in the eighth to win. J.J. Putz (1-4, 4.76) blew the save and was tagged with his fourth loss of the season.

Mets Pitching
Livan Hernandez: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Bobby Parnell (H, 11): 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Pedro Feliciano (H, 9): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K
J.J. Putz (L, 1-4): 0.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB
Brian Stokes: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER

Notables
Fernando Martinez: 1 for 3, R, 2 BB
Jeremy Reed: 2 for 4, 2 2B, 2 R
Wilson Valdez: 2 for 4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI
Brian Schneider: 1 for 3, RBI

The Good:

• Hernandez was strong again. He left with the lead, but was faced with the no decision after the bullpen blew it in the eighth.
• Martinez looks more relaxed at the plate each game.
• Wilson Valdez was the offensive star of the night with a double, triple, and three RBI. Who'da thunkit?

The Bad:

• J.J. Putz now has four losses, two blown saves, and an ERA of 4.76. This is not what the Mets traded for.
• After going 0 for 4 last night, Daniel Murphy is now hitting .120 in his last 50 at-bats (6 for 50), during which he has seen his average drop 65 points.

The Ugly:

• Putz's "new" delivery. It obviously isn't working. Cut the crap, Warthen.
• The paid attendance last night was 11,812, and is expected to be even lower tonight with the Pittsburgh Penguins playing in game three of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Igloo.

Mets' Player of the Game: Wilson Valdez (1)

This one was hard to watch. However, we all knew games like this would happen every now and then, despite the arms that are down in that bullpen. Let all the other drama queens in the Mets blogosphere worry, because I'm not. You win some, you lose some.

Had the Mets not lost so many games in 2007 and 2008 in the same fashion, would this game be such a big deal? The answer is NO, it wouldn't be. Despite what all of the pessimists scream and chant, this is not the same team.

Go ahead and throw in the towel if you want to, but come September when the Mets clinch the division, don't you dare celebrate...