NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Mets fans are already growing tired of closer Armando Benitez.

Benitez blew his fourth save chance this season, allowing two runs in the ninth inning of the Mets' 6-5 loss to the Florida Marlins on Saturday.

``I don't have to worry about this; I know what I can do,'' said Benitez, who was booed from the mound to the dugout after the inning. ``I don't worry about a blown save. (Pitchers are) human. We're not machines.''

Luis Castillo hit a game-tying RBI single and Ivan Rodriguez beat out a potential double-play grounder to drive in the go-ahead run as the Marlins rallied for the win.

``I played hard until the last out of the game, because in baseball you can win so many different ways,'' Rodriguez said. ``You can win with good hustle to first base, and that's what I did.''

Benitez (0-3) matched his blown save total from all of last season in the first month of the year for the last-place Mets. He has blown four of nine opportunities this year after converting 33 of 37 in 2002.

``It's only April,'' Benitez said. ``Come back and talk to me in five months.''

This is the third time in five meetings this season that the Marlins have beaten the Mets in their last at-bat -- including twice against Benitez.

benitez sucks

i've had enough of this dreg. fire him!!!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

see this id the difference in spending that makes teams winners and losers. doesnt look like art howe can work the magic he had in oaktown. or maybe it wasnt magic. the a's are still gonna contend. the mets are owning up to the old acronym " My Entire Team Sucks " all over again.

Maybe he needs a change of scenery. Perhaps a trade to the Red Sox...

The frustrating thing is that the Mets would be right in contention in the NL East had Benitez converted those saves (even three of the four). Benitez needs some competition for the closer's job. Why doesn't Howe let Strickland take a shot at it for a while? With Astacio coming back to the rotation soon, there will be an extra pitcher available. He couldn't do much worse right now!

in spite of those 4 blown saves and losing 8 of last 12 games, mets are only 3 games back.

That's because no one else has broken from the pack in the divison. But the Mets look like an old, bad team. They're in last now, and they'll be there in the end.

Classic overreaction. Benitez is no All-Star -- I think the rules are going to be changed that the first 2 guys are automatically put on when he enters a game! -- but his ratio of saves to blown saves over his career is significantly above average.

I still expect the Mets to win only 76-82 games, but as said above, they're 3 GAMES OUT fergawdsake, not 13 or 14 like the Tigers....

You're just realizing this now?

The stats may say otherwise, but Benitez always seems to be blowing saves. My mind reels back to a game last year in Atlanta that he blew, which coincided with the Phillies being eliminated. I've hated him since.

But "seems" is not fair. Yes, Benitez has memorably blown late-season saves (by giving up homers) in at least two different seasons. But a loss in April has the same *actual* impact as one in September, doesn't it? Why don't Met fans say Benitez always "seems" to be saving games in July and August? The memory / bias factor is a ridiculously subjective yardstick... or as lazy broadcasters famously say, "If you saw him every day..."

Who do you want in his place, Johnny "Seemed to Be Blowing Every Save in 1999" Franco?

I know it's not fair to say that. I guess I just hear more about his blown saves than the games he closed successfully.

But that crucial game I remember (but, now that I think of it, occurred in '01), was such a huge disaster for both the Mets and the Phillies, which is why I have such a low regard for him.

I would have said before that that Stanton should be the Mets closer, but I've heard that he isn't doing so well lately, either.