The pride of our minor league system, Fernando Martinez, got his first career hit and RBI. However, it was way short of enough to beat the Florida Marlins.

That is because Tim Redding was getting lit up like he did in his last start, sort of like firecrackers on the 4th of July.

I guess Jerry Manuel figured Josh Johnson was going to be tough to beat at home with Tim Redding on the mound for the Mets, so he sat out most of our non-injured stars. And the one premier bat in the lineup, the early season MVP candidate Carlos Beltran’s, left mid-game because of a stomach virus.

Let’s put this ugly loss behind us and get started on another little winning streak ASAP.