5. What the Mets did to Jose Guillen. (An Argument in Six Parts).
4/29/05 New York Mets at Washington Nationals.
Jose Guillen is at bat with two outs in the sixth inning after having homered off Jae Seo in the fourth inning to give Washington a 3-1 lead. New York reliever Heath Bell hits Jose Guillen, and walks Termell Sledge in front of Vinny Castilla, who hits a two-run double to give the Nationals a 5-1 lead which holds in a win over the Mets.
4/30/05 New York Mets at Washington Nationals.
New York's starting pitcher Victor Zambrano hits Jose Guillen twice. The first hit by pitch comes with one on and two out in the first, Jose Vidro moves to second on the HBP. Vidro and Guillen both score when Vinny Castilla hits a two-run double to make it 2-0 DC.
Victor Zambrano walks Nick Johnson with one out in the third, but gets a fly ball out from Jose Vidro to bring up Jose Guillen, who is promptly struck for the third time in two games. This time Vinny Castilla strands both runners by striking out. The Nationals hold on for a 5-3 win.
7/5/05 New York Mets at Washington Nationals.
Two outs and no one on in the first and New York starter Pedro Martinez hits Jose Guillen, who glares out at the mound before taking his base. Jose Guillen singles in his next three at bats, drives in a run, and the Nationals take a 3-2 win to raise their record to 51-32...(On July 5th!!!).
9/15/05 Washington Nationals at New York Mets.
New York leads Washington 5-4 in the ninth inning. The Mets send Braden Looper out to close it. The Kids Call Him Zim!! Ryan Zimmerman leads off the inning with a double. Kenny Kelly runs for Zimmerman. Looper gets a groundout from Cristian Guzman, and with first base open, Looper hits Jose Guillen. Brandon Watson comes on to run for Guillen, and Brad Wilkerson reaches on an error that scores Kelly to tie the game at 5-5. The Nationals win on an RBI single from Vinny Castilla. 76-71 with the win for DC.
4/5/06 Washington Nationals at New York Mets.
Jose Vidro doubles off Brian Bannister with one out in the sixth inning of a game the Mets lead 4-0. With first base open, Bannister hits Jose Guillen. Nick Johnson steps to the plate and makes it 4-3 with one swing and a three-run home run. The Kids Call Him Zim!!! Ryan Zimmerman ties it with a leadoff home run off Billy Wagner in the ninth. Jose Guillen hits a two-run HR in the 10th. Nationals win 9-5.
4/16/06 Washington Nationals at New York Mets.
New York starter Pedro Martinez walks Jose Vidro to start the third inning of a 2-2 game. Pedro Martinez hits Jose Guillen. Martinez retires Nick Johnson, Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Zimmerman in order to end the third.
5-2 Mets after four. Martinez walks Vidro a second time to start the fifth inning. Pedro Martinez hits Jose Guillen a second time to put two on in front of Nick Johnson. Jose Guillen is not amused by Pedro. Nick Johnson makes Martinez pay with three-run blast to tie it at 5-5. The Mets take this matchup and take two of three from the Nationals to start the season.
Closing Argument:
Jose Guillen was hit with 26 pitches in his two years in DC, and yes he did tend to dive into the strike zone while swinging, but eight times in six games over two seasons? Pedro Martinez? You know the guy who is kinda known for his control? Martinez hits Guillen three times in two seasons.
One on, two outs. One on, two outs. Two outs, no one on. Man on second, one out. Man on second, one out. Leadoff walk, hit by pitch. Leadoff walk, hit by pitch. Patterns? The only anomaly is the first hit by pitch, which comes after an early home run.
I suggest the Mets were attempting to set off the volatile Jose Guillen by hitting him whenever possible; with first open, in situations in which you'd probably issue intentionals, why not hit Guillen, and sit back and see if he explodes?
Conspiracy theory or uncovered underhanded strategies? You decide. Either way...it's another reason to HATE the METS.