PHILADELPHIA – At the decrepit Vet, the filthiest stadium in baseball, you are not even safe at home.
Mets outfielder Timo Perez was the latest player to slip on home plate last night when he popped to shortstop in the third. Benny Agbayani slipped on the plate while running to first on Friday night, straining his right hamstring. Agbayani did not play last night and is expected to be out a few more games. Edgardo Alfonzo also slipped on the plate after scoring in the first inning Friday night. He didn’t slip when he belted his fifth home run in his last 11 games in the third in the 7-3 Mets win.
After last night’s mishap with Perez, Bobby Valentine came out to complain to homeplate umpire Chuck Meriwether. Meriwether then put rosin on the plate and wiped it in with a towel.
“It was dangerous,” Valentine said. “Chuck did a good job.” Before the game, as Valentine wrapped up his usual pre-game talk with reporters in the dugout, the top half of the bench he was sitting on gave way and Valentine nearly fell to the dugout floor.
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Valentine offered high praise for Alfonzo, who now has 23 homers and is batting .323.
“He’s been a constant on the trip, a constant on the month and constant on the year,” the manager said.
The same cannot be said for Derek Bell, who continues to slump and could be a major liability in the playoffs. Once Agbayani returns, Bell’s spot in the lineup could be in jeopardy. Bell is hitless in his last 16 at-bats and has only two hits in his last 35 at-bats with runners in scoring position. … John Franco surrendered two home runs Friday and one on Thursday, the first home runs he has allowed since April 6 and 8. He pitched a perfect ninth last night to end the three hour, 46-minute affair. … The first two games of the playoffs at Shea were sold out yesterday. Valentine was asked about playoff plans, but said he did not want to talk about the playoffs until the Mets officially clinch a spot.
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Series with the Phillies concludes today with Glendon Rusch (10-11, 4.15) taking on LHP Bruce Chen (7-2, 3.08).