Jose Constanza
#17 CF
Atlanta Braves
2011 STATS
- GM9
HR1
RBI5
R6
OBP.429
- AVG.412
When Jose Constanza's spike drove into Daniel Murphy's left leg in the seventh inning on Sunday, there were surely grumblings among Mets fans over whether there was any intent behind the spikes-high finish to Constanza’s slide.
For the record, none of the Mets accused Constanza of anything dirty after the game.
"Every guy that went up and saw it said that it was just a good, clean slide. A straight-in slide," Terry Collins said. "Matter of fact I thought Murph might have tagged him out. Obviously, due to the speed of Constanza it just hit him hard."
In late July, some members of the Chicago Cubs were upset when Matt Holliday came in spikes-high on young shortstop Starlin Castro.
Many viewed Leonard Davis' slide into Murphy in a Triple-A Buffalo game last season as dirty. That play resulted in Murphy suffering a season-ending MCL injury to his right knee.
GEE FUNK: Pitching on eight days' rest, Dillon Gee allowed a career-high three home runs and five overall in just six innings in a sloppy outing on Sunday. He also collected a career-high two hits. But that was of little solace for Gee, who has won twice in his last six starts.
"I just didn't get the job done. I pitched terrible," Gee said. "I hate seeing (Bobby Parnell) come in the game and get a loss for a game that I really lost. (I) just can't find it out there. That's a tough feeling when you go to throw a pitch and you just hope it's a strike, let alone hitting spots …. I never really gave us a chance to win."
MOVING PARTS: Due to injuries to Jose Reyes and Murphy, David Wright played his first professional inning at short stop in the eighth inning (in either the majors or minors). Justin Turner was moved from shortstop to second base and Scott Hairston moved from right field to second base and then back to right field, among other position changes by Collins.
Said Turner: "(I) came in and sat down afterwards with Nick (Evans) and Scotty and joked around like we felt like we literally just walked off a battle field with the heat and all the switching around and the grinding and the coming back and tying it up … it's tough, mentally and physically."
BAY'S DAY: Lost among the injuries and game-winning knock by Chipper Jones was the fact that Jason Bay singled three times and walked twice on Sunday, reaching base in all five plate appearances. Bay has hit safely in a season-high nine straight games.