New York Mets: Wheres The Hustle?
New York Mets beat Baltimore Orioles 6-4; Carlos Beltran doesn’t run hard Two outs, runners on first and second, and a pop-up to the right side of the infield. The infielder drifts back, gets under it, and…drops it. This scene is all too familiar to Mets fans, as Luis Castillo dropped a pop-up in the ninth inning to cost his team the game against the Yankees last Friday. The reason this miscue ended the game as opposed to just tying it is because the runner on first, Mark Teixeira, ran hard as soon as contact was made. Last night, a very similar situation occurred in Baltimore. In the top of the seventh, with two outs and the bases loaded, David Wright hit a pop-up just behind first base. It would have been an easier play for the second baseman, but instead, first baseman Aubrey Huff was the closest guy to the ball. He tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch, and it hit off his glove. The difference between the two situations? Carlos Beltran, the runner on first for the Mets, didn’t
