But that said, what is the point of running him out at all?  I don't care what his stats say, and I don't care if he's had a couple good outings.  If this team gets to the point where one inning really matters, this schlemiel will ruin it.  Let Ortiz "close".  Or Hennessey, or anyone else.  Have no closer at all, until someone steps up to do it.  But from now on, Balk-Off should be relegated to meaningless innings. Then, on the off chance the team can come up with adequate answers on offense to pull out a few of these 1-2 run games, maybe one of the other pitchers will have stepped up enough to function as a closer.  It literally can't be worse than having Balk-Off.

BB

BB

I'd be shocked if Benitez lasted another 2 weeks in a Giants uniform. This simply cannot stand. Brian Sabean is the biggest idiot in the world if he doesn't deal him soon. In the World.

he showcases blownitez in spring training with the hope that he does well enough to deal him for something of value, then he somehow manages to trick himself into thinking benitez is good and keeps him

its like setting a bear trap with a sandwich, and then getting so hungry looking at the sandwich that you forget that you just put it in a bear trap

i hate them both so, so much...

N.Y. 5 S.F. 4 W: Benitez L: Benitez S: Benitez

He does it all.

So far this season:
                IP     H    BB    K    ERA
Accardo  21.2  15   6     22   1.25
Aardsma 26.2  24  14    32   4.73

And no, I won't go into Nathan and Linebrink.  But, I will go into Heath Bell because I freaking found him last year and didn't take much digging to see that his peripherals were pretty good.  Heath Bell to the Padres for a bucket of dirt

Bell         30    17   6       31   1.20

What a front office we have.

http://www.nj.com/mets/175_pic/0714ap_benitez.jpg

Lowlight of the (very long) night was def listening to Mets fan yell "We want Mando!" for three innings.

At least I got a few very sincere and empathetic "Don't worry, we know how you feel"s on the (very long) way out...

To those who think Benitez will still be here because Mando won't fetch anything in return, I refer you to the legal precedent of The People v. Livan Hernandez.  Fatass 1.0 and Edwardz Guzman for a then unheard-of Jim Brower (Hermanson wasn't in this deal too, was he?), in the wake of Livo's Game 7 bedcrapping.  We might trade Benitez for a metallic brown Chevy Nova, but we'll deal him.  And the sooner, the better.

Now, if I relate one bright spot from tonight's evening at Shea (other than Timmy blowing 99-mph gas past Beltran):  I was headed towards the 7 train in my Giants hat and shirt (my Jason Schmidt jersey is suddenly so passe) and one Mets fan (the only one of the whole night--props to them) started getting up in my face.  "Ha ha, you just got Metsercised!  You got Delgadoed!"  

So I asked him: "How long have you been a Mets fan?"

"Ten years."

"So you know what this is like."

Pause.  Then, some fraternal pats of solidarity on my back, an almost tearful "I'm sorry, man--I'm sorry."  And then silence.

I'll be back at the yard tomorrow.

It's on Sabean.

It's on Sabean for keeping this oddity, this nonentity -- despite all the evidence -- for three gruesome seasons.

I say give Russ a shot. He nibbles, but his cutter is filthy in relief.

http://giantsbaseballblog.blogspot.com/

Come on Giants.... is there really a need for him EVEN now?? Loyalty is done lets move on.

And Sabean ... Pa-lease just quite.

beyond that, i just wanted to say that, having found this blog through the interview with grant posted on metsblog, i found the posts and comments to be very witty and entertaining.  keep up the good writing and good luck with the rest of your season.  other than the next two games, that is.

Sure, you can say it was because of the bottle of vodka that I'd finished off during the course of the game, but I know in my heart that Benitez was much more responsible.

On a side note, I'd really like to see a statistical breakdown of Benitez' save percentage (at least for the last couple years) in games he enters with a one run lead, games he enters with a two run lead, and games he enters with a three run lead.

Obviously, a stat that would be similar for all closers, but I'd bet that it's REALLY lopsided for Armando.

He reminds me a bit of Robb Nen in his prime: he enters the game, and you feel like you don't even need to bother watching the ninth inning, because the outcome is already determined.  Of course, with Nen, that outcome was a 1-2-3 inning.  With Mando, it's walking the leadoff hitter, then finding a creative way to blow the save.