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October fallout Benitez blows another postseason game
Updated: Sunday October 22, 2000 8:43 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Mets aren't about to change their closer despite yet another blown October save by Armando Benitez. Benitez failed to hold a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning of Game 1 Saturday night, putting the Mets in a 1-0 hole to the New York Yankees in the World Series. It was his sixth career blown save in the postseason -- the most in baseball history -- and fourth in six tries with the Mets. "If we're going to be successful this postseason, we're going to need Armando Benitez," general manager Steve Phillips said Sunday before Game 2. "He has shown the ability to bounce back from tough games during the regular season and here in the postseason as well. We expect him to bounce back when he gets the ball." Benitez has had quite a bit of practice bouncing back from poor postseason outings. He gave up a game-tying, three-run homer to J.T. Snow in the ninth inning of Game 2 in the division series against San Francisco. The Mets ended up winning that game on Jay Payton's RBI single in the 10th, but weren't so lucky against the Yankees. "I don't make any excuses," Benitez said early Sunday morning. "They beat me. I didn't do my job. When you face a team like the Yankees, one mistake will cost you the game." As a member of the Baltimore Orioles in 1997, he allowed a three-run homer by Cleveland's Marquis Grissom in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the AL championship series that gave the Indians a 5-4 victory. That was the first of three game-deciding hits allowed by Benitez during that series, which the Orioles lost. One of those was a game-winning homer by Tony Fernandez that broke up a scoreless tie in the 11th inning of the series finale. And in 1996, Benitez allowed two big postseason homers: a grand slam to Albert Belle in the division series against Cleveland and Derek Jeter's homer that was helped over the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium by 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier. "He's human, so clearly they're on his mind when he performs," Phillips said. "It's something that's going to take strength inside of him to deal with. "I have belief that Armando is not only going to bounce back in the short term, but he will also be a productive closer for us in the long term." Benitez has grown from a temperamental setup man in Baltimore to an overpowering closer with the Mets -- at least in the regular season. He allowed only 39 hits in 76 innings and struck out 106 batters this year. But he was susceptible to the long ball, giving up 10 homers. In 28 1-3 career innings in the postseason, Benitez has allowed seven home runs, the most by a reliever in history. "We're here because that closer closes," manager Bobby Valentine said. "It's like an airplane ride. You never hear about the safe landings. That's what the closer's role is."
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