Before his Game 2 start, Mark Redman said people have referred to him as “a big Tom Glavine.” Anyone who watched the Mets this season could tell you that’s exactly what Redman looked like last night.
The Marlins’ finesse lefty spit the bit against a patient and predatory Yankees lineup, failing to even give his team a prayer in the 6-1 loss in Game 2 of the World Series. Battling major control problems and a lack of confidence in his stuff, the 6-foot-5 southpaw lasted just 21/3 innings and served up a backbreaking three-run homer to Hideki Matsui in the first.
“I just fell down in the count,” Redman said. “When you fall behind and walk guys, you’re not giving yourself a good chance to have success.”
“It was just a bad night for him,” catcher Pudge Rodriguez said.
Redman’s brief, disastrous outing was no surprise to his former college coach Vern Ruhle, who virtually predicted a meltdown in a conversation with The Post Saturday afternoon. Ruhle coached Redman at the University of Oklahoma and coached against him in the NL East as the Mets pitching coach this year.
“I don’t know if he has enough experience,” Ruhle said by phone. “I saw him shake a couple pitches off against the Cubs and stick with his change-up, and they ended up hitting it and hitting it hard.
“He’s got to find what’s the right formula for him to be successful at this stage.”
Redman only tossed 24 strikes in 50 pitches while allowing five hits and four earned runs. He walked two, plunked one and tossed a wild pitch.
With two outs and runners at the corners in the first, Matsui got ahead in the count 3-and-0 and then tattooed a weak Redman offering over the fence in center field.
“Three-and-oh you don’t expect a guy to swing in the first inning,” Redman said. “You can’t sit there and walk guys.
“You just have to go with it and throw a strike and tip the hat. He swung at a pitch and put it over the fence.”
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