Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Return of Clutch and Anti-Clutch

Clutch returned tonight although Tatis was the name on the back of his jersey. Fernando Tatis is possibly the only Mets player you would like to see up at the plate with the game on the line. Think about it. Beltran? You're on crack. Wright? Not lately. Delgado? If it were July, then maybe.

Fernando Tatis yet again won a game for the Mets this season. Actually a hat tip needs to go to Nick Evans for getting that hit in the eighth that ultimately drove in the winning run. But it should have never come to that.

Enter the Anti-Clutch. Some may call him Aaron Heilman.

I will confess that I was touting the resurgence of Heilman based on his pitching performances in late June and early July. But I have never seen a guy crumble so fast in a tight spot. It's like the guy lives to give up home runs to lose games. This wasn't a pressure situation by any stretch. He came into the 9th inning with a 6-2 lead against the worst offensive club in the majors.

But somehow Heilman finds a way to be anti-clutch. The Mets can't trust him as far as they can throw him. At this point I'll give Heilman away for some prospects and take my chances. The crazy part is he had been throwing 95+ fastballs and that killer changeup just a few short weeks ago. It's not his arm that's the problem. It's his head that needs examining.

But a win is a win and at this point we'll take as many as we can get. Congrats to Fernando "Clutch" Tatis for hitting his 100th and 101st homers. Long time coming, Clutch.

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