WHEN WILL ANYONE IN MLB LEARN?!

This, I do not understand, and never will - no matter how many times those who eat, sleep, and live baseball explain it to me. To me, it has been proven NOT to work more times than it does: The use of the dreaded pitch count, or as some like to refer to it as ... time for the middle reliever.

As I write these words, this evening's Mets game against the Cardinals has yet to end, but as a fan, I know how it will already end. If you have followed this team, as most of us here at MetsFanClub.com have, you know that it is over - for the New York Mets that is.

Earlier in the evening before I had to get some work done, I went to ESPN to check out what the score was and saw that at the start of the 3rd Inning, our illustrious Mets were up 1-0. After finishing up work, I headed home. Listening to the radio it was still 1-0, Mets. It was then that I found myself thinking, could they actually do it, could they pull it out?

Instead of going straight home, I stopped for a cafe and to chill. Then it occured to me to check on the game and see how my team was doing. So I checked ESPN again, only this time the score was 4-1 Cardinals. At that moment, I would have bet the farm, as they say, that, due to whatever excuse the manager would give this time, that the starting pitcher would be relieved. Sure enough, I popped up ESPN's Gamecast (great feature by the way) of the game and scrolled down to see how the game progressed, knowing beforehand that I would have won the farm... and then some.

Ollie Perez started the game and pitched as follows:

1st inning faces 4 batters
2nd inning faces 4 batters
3rd inning faces 3 batters
4th inning faces 3 batters
5th inning faces 4 batters
6th inning faces 3 batters

Now comes the top of the 7th. Our smart and all-knowing nanager lets Ollie bat who strikes out looking. Anyone with half a brain, or even those who know nothing about the game would think that Perez would be coming back in the 7th. Manuel brought him back in, but at 97 pitches what does he do? He pulls Perez and puts in Nieve. If you had even the smallest thought of relieving Perez, why have him bat in the 6th? Is anyone going to ask Jerry "By The" Manuel that? Doubt it! ... Doubt it severely.

So, in came Nieve, and he lasted only 5 batters and was replaced by Valdes. And what does Valdes then do? He gives up a homer to the next batter, Lopez.

I heard on one of the sports talk stations today (don't remember which one since I jump around station a lot) Nolan Ryan. It was great to hear that the Texas Rangers are about the only team that does not work with a pitch count and lets their pitchers at least attempt to go the distance. Can't help but think that if Ollie were allowed to pitch deeper into the game, what the end result would have been.

All that comes to mind is when your starter is on a roll, why not let him go as far as he can? Especially in a 1 run game against a most hated foe ... when will they learn? When will this manager learn?