DENVER – It may be propaganda. It may be wishful thinking. Nevertheless, there is an element of truth to what the Mets are saying about Al Leiter.
He’s not really this bad.
But what about the eight runs he allowed in the Rockies’ 10-3 win over the Mets on Monday night?
“There’s nothing to be concerned about,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “He pitched a helluva ball game. Much better than 8-3 [the score when Leiter left].”
What about his 1-4 record and 5.55 ERA? How do those numbers reconcile with his 17-6 record of last season, and the 2.47 ERA, which was tied for third-best in the National League with Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine?
“He’s pitching great,” manager Bobby Valentine said. “He might be throwing a little better now than last year.”
Then what’s wrong? What’s different?
“I’m trying to figure out what the hell is different from last year,” Leiter said. “Stuff-wise, I’m not different. You might think I’m full of [it], but I’m not.”
His pitches may not be different, and his arm may feel fine, but there is one thing that is distinctly different. Leiter, who gave up two home runs Monday, already has given up six long balls in just seven starts this year.
Last year Leiter gave up only eight all season!
Then, he didn’t give up his first home run until his 10th start. He didn’t give up No. 6 until Aug. 29, when he allowed three against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. In all, he allowed home runs in only six of his 28 starts.
This year he has given up home runs in all but two of his seven starts, and in five of the last six. Plus, some of them have been absolute morale crushers:
* April 16 at Shea. There was a home run allowed to Rondell White in the fourth inning. Leiter said it didn’t affect him after that, but he went on to give up three more runs in that inning in the Expos’ 6-4 win. Other than that, he pitched well.
* April 22, at Cincinnati. Leiter gives up a leadoff shot to catcher Brian Johnson. But he settles down and gets three quick outs. It was his only blemish as the Mets win 4-1.
* May 4 at Shea. After giving up a two-out triple to Astro pitcher Mike Hampton, Leiter allows an RBI single to Craig Biggio and then a two-run home run to Derek Bell. Leiter acknowledges losing his concentration while facing Bell.
* May 10 at Colorado. A leadoff home run to Dante Bichette is nothing to fret about. But in the seventh inning little Henry Blanco, who had only one previous major-league home run dating back to 1997, took Leiter deep for a three-run home run, turning a 5-3 game into an 8-3 blowout.
“Did I anticipate Blanco, who was hitting [.143] giving up a three-run home run?” Leiter said. “No.”
It may sound a little absurd, but other than those hits, Leiter has pitched very well this year. It comes across a little like saying, “She was a great gal, except for those six times she stabbed her friends in the back.”
But take the second inning Monday, when the Rockies scored their first run. Runners on first and second, no outs, Leiter strikes out Blanco, who steps in front of Mike Piazza as both runners steal bases on an apparent (but not called) interference. Piazza’s throw was way off the mark and now the runners are at second and third.
With pitcher Pedro Astacio at the plate, the infield charges, and Astacio hits a bloop eight feet in the air over the head of Edgardo Alfonzo. It would have been the second out if the infield had stayed put. Instead, it’s an RBI hit.
That hit may not have been Leiter’s fault, but when you allow runners on base, they tend to score when goofy things happen.
“You can’t explain it,” Apodaca said. “That’s baseball. You can’t explain every bloop, every jam shot that falls in. He’s the same pitcher he was last year.”
Except for the home runs.