But even though he gave up 3 singles and 3 walks in the inning, I don't peg the loss entirely on ol' Johnny boy. The Mets also committed a few errors behind him, with Johnson charged with 2 when he booted Walt Weiss' RBI single, allowing Trinidad Hubbard to score, then another when his throw home was errant, allowing the runners to move up a base. Jeff Kent had another error later on that allowed the final run of the inning to score. Not to mention, Franco had just worked 2 innings the previous day, and was the only member of the bullpen to work that game. So Dallas Green probably would have been best served going with someone else to nail down the save -- especially considering it was the bottom of the Colorado order due up in the 9th, so it shouldn't have been too difficult for a well-rested pitcher to navigate.

Nonetheless, Franco's implosion negated a very strong start from Jason Isringhausen, whose only mistake over 8 innings was serving up a 2-run homer to Ellis Burks -- despite some uncharacteristic wildness, as he walked 5 and hit 2 batters. However, he also rung up 8 strikeouts, which set a new career high at the time. His counterpart, Armando Reynoso, was not to be outdone. He faced the minimum through 5 innings and only allowed 1 run on 3 hits over 7, but was mysteriously removed from the game after just 76 pitches. The Colorado bullpen immediately blew it, with Johnson arguably getting his biggest hit as a Met to that point with his 2-out, 2-run triple. It was already his 4th triple of the season, and he'd go on to collect a still team-record 21 (a mark I doubt will ever be broken).

So far, 1996 was beginning just like 1995: high hopes and promise, but nothing but poor play and disheartening losses to show for it.