Well, the last two games of the season are, I think, apropos of the entire season for the Mets, it is an example of what the Mets have been doing to themselves, and worse yet, to their fans, all season. This is a team that is, as far as I am concerned, the best team in the NL east, and really the best team in the National League. They did not play like it, but I believe they are.
So, after falling out of first place with only two games left to play, after being in first place since mid-May, the Mets showed heart, they showed grit and determination. John Maine pitched the game of his life and looked absolutely brilliant. The Mets offense came to life and they kept hitting and scoring runs. What was the final? Was it 12-0, 13-0, maybe more? Actually it was 13-0. The Mets showed some determination and some fight, literally and figuratively as they were ready to brawl.
I had given up on them the day before when they fell out of first place, but they sucked me right back in. After seeing that game, and seeing the Phillies lose, I had hoped. The Mets were coming back. They should have had the momentum going into today’s game. They didn’t. Glavine flat out sucked. I actually decided I was not going to watch the game right from the beginning and came in half an hour late, only to be shocked that the Mets were already losing 5-0 and Glavine was out of the game. The Marlins scored two more times that inning and before the Mets came to bat they were trailing 7-0.
The Mets had their opportunities to get back in it, but they fell short and left a lot of men on base. When they needed the big hit, they did not get it. When they needed a big out, they did not get it. So Glavine, who was let down by the Mets in his first attempt to win 300 games as the bullpen blew the lead, returned the favor and let the team down today. Yesterday’s game gave us hope and got us back in it, but consistently, the Mets have been unable to seal the deal, to get the job done for good, and once again that happened today.
We laughed at Jimmy Rollins for his comment about the Phills being the team to beat, but they are there. Give the Phillies some credit as they played well to get in, but the bottom line is, the Mets did this to themselves. A team up by seven with two weeks to go does not lose out unless they themselves suffer a meltdown. They did and the Phills were there to take advantage.
As a Met fan, I guess the good news is we do not need to suffer through anymore heartache and heartbreak this (post)season. The Mets blew it and now it is time to speculate on the changes that will occur.
I would think Willie is let go. I do not see anyway Randolph can stay. I understand that the manager is not the one on the field, but he is making decisions and more importantly, he is the one who has to inspire players. Randolph didn’t and he doesn’t. As I see it, Randolph has managed three must win games, three elimination games. Game 6 of the NLCS last year against St. Louis, his team won, and avoided elimination. Still, they had to win the next day and the didn’t. Today they had to win and they didn’t. Randolph has seen his team loss two of three must win games.
Last year the Mets underachieved as they should have gone to the World Series, but they could not get past the Cardinals. This year the Mets underachieved as they could not even win the division. The could not even get to 90 wins. This, in part has to be the fault of the manager. You need to fire up your players. Randolph did not do this. He has got to go.
I do not know if I will even watch postseason play. Go ahead, call it sour grapes. Who knows, maybe it even is, but right now I have no interest or care as to who moves on (other than not wanting it to be the Yankees). All I can say is, it will be a long off season, but I hope that the off-season for the Met players is even longer and they reflect on what a disappointment they have been, nothing more than a bunch of screw-ups this year.
As I said before, it was a disappointing season.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
An Historic Collapse
The Berlin Wall … The Fall of Communism … The 2007 New York Mets. These are among the greatest collapses of recent times. For the first time all season, the Mets no longer control their own destiny, in order to get to the Post Season, we need a Philadelphia loss- actually two of them. When they were tied, the Phills needed to lose a game, but that game could have been a head-to-head one game playoff against the Mets, hence Met wins were all that were needed. Now, we NEED the Philies to lose one of their last two games, just to finish in a tie.
As we all know by now, no team has ever had a seven game lead come September 15 and failed to get into the postseason. The Mets could be the first. Having been a Met fan for so many years, you would think I suffered through enough of this to be used to it. Still, this meltdown is of epic proportions and I do not think most fans could have braced for it.
So before the season started, Jimmy Rollins said the Phills were the team to beat and we laughed, we were even disgusted with him. The season started and the Phills got off to a terrible start and we laughed even harder. Now, we come down to the end of the season and we are not laughing. Regardless of what happens, is there anyone of else that feels right now, today, that the Mets are a better team than the Phills. The Mets have been playing heartless, as if they don’t care, finding ways to lose. The Phillies on the other hand are finding ways to win.
Yesterday’s game saw the Marlins take an early lead. Then, the Mets pecked away and actually at one point the score was 4-3. I turned off the game for a bit to take care of my son and when I turned it back on, the Marlins had gotten two more runs, for a 6-3 lead. I laughed. It was a disgusted laugh, but a laugh none the less. If I weren’t a diehard Met fan, this would be funny, it would be amusing.
So, they’ve lost seven in a row at home. When the pitching comes through on that rare occasion, such as Thursday’s game against the Cardinals, the Met bats go silent. Pedro went seven inning, probably the longest start he has made in two years. He did not look great, but certainly good, and good enough to get the win. Still, the Mets managed only a handful of hits, and no runs. When the bullpen comes through (a rarity), the starting pitching falters. It does not matter what happens, they just cannot win a game.
And, then there is Willie Randolph. I realize he is not playing, the players are screwing up, largely the pitching. Still, is there anyone right now who feels comfortable with Randolph managing? Do you have confidence in him? I have lost my confidence and I think, perhaps, so have the Met players. He has winning records with the Mets, but Randolph must go, especially if we don’t make the playoffs and even if we do. I realize you cannot do this, but part of me says they should fire him right now and see if that breathes new life into this team.
Well, I said to a friend a couple of days ago that maybe the Mets needed to fall out of first place to realize this is not a done deal, that right now they suck. Then I told that friend I wanted to see the Mets, after falling out of first place, regain the position. Now, in order for that to happen, the Phills need to lose at least one game against the lowly Washington National, and really two (which is not going to happen with only two games left).
If the Phills lose only one game (and that may not happen), and the Mets win the next two (again, that may not happen), the Mets would have to face Philadelphia in a one game playoff and the Phills have won eight in a row from the Mets.
This is baseball and anything can happen, but right now, as a Met fan, I am not confident and I am feeling absolutely disgusted.
Let’s Go Mets!
As we all know by now, no team has ever had a seven game lead come September 15 and failed to get into the postseason. The Mets could be the first. Having been a Met fan for so many years, you would think I suffered through enough of this to be used to it. Still, this meltdown is of epic proportions and I do not think most fans could have braced for it.
So before the season started, Jimmy Rollins said the Phills were the team to beat and we laughed, we were even disgusted with him. The season started and the Phills got off to a terrible start and we laughed even harder. Now, we come down to the end of the season and we are not laughing. Regardless of what happens, is there anyone of else that feels right now, today, that the Mets are a better team than the Phills. The Mets have been playing heartless, as if they don’t care, finding ways to lose. The Phillies on the other hand are finding ways to win.
Yesterday’s game saw the Marlins take an early lead. Then, the Mets pecked away and actually at one point the score was 4-3. I turned off the game for a bit to take care of my son and when I turned it back on, the Marlins had gotten two more runs, for a 6-3 lead. I laughed. It was a disgusted laugh, but a laugh none the less. If I weren’t a diehard Met fan, this would be funny, it would be amusing.
So, they’ve lost seven in a row at home. When the pitching comes through on that rare occasion, such as Thursday’s game against the Cardinals, the Met bats go silent. Pedro went seven inning, probably the longest start he has made in two years. He did not look great, but certainly good, and good enough to get the win. Still, the Mets managed only a handful of hits, and no runs. When the bullpen comes through (a rarity), the starting pitching falters. It does not matter what happens, they just cannot win a game.
And, then there is Willie Randolph. I realize he is not playing, the players are screwing up, largely the pitching. Still, is there anyone right now who feels comfortable with Randolph managing? Do you have confidence in him? I have lost my confidence and I think, perhaps, so have the Met players. He has winning records with the Mets, but Randolph must go, especially if we don’t make the playoffs and even if we do. I realize you cannot do this, but part of me says they should fire him right now and see if that breathes new life into this team.
Well, I said to a friend a couple of days ago that maybe the Mets needed to fall out of first place to realize this is not a done deal, that right now they suck. Then I told that friend I wanted to see the Mets, after falling out of first place, regain the position. Now, in order for that to happen, the Phills need to lose at least one game against the lowly Washington National, and really two (which is not going to happen with only two games left).
If the Phills lose only one game (and that may not happen), and the Mets win the next two (again, that may not happen), the Mets would have to face Philadelphia in a one game playoff and the Phills have won eight in a row from the Mets.
This is baseball and anything can happen, but right now, as a Met fan, I am not confident and I am feeling absolutely disgusted.
Let’s Go Mets!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
NO!
NO!!!!!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
I think that about says it all!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
I think that about says it all!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
If, If, If ...
The Mets, what are we going to do with the Mets. They may well get to the post season this year but I am not sure there will be any Met fans left to enjoy it, they are going to give us all heart attacks. Yes, they did reduce their magic number to four yesterday, but that was only thanks to Atlanta. (That sounds strange, saying Thanks to Atlanta, as a Met fan, in September).
Yesterday the steady hands of Tom Glavine were supposed to right the ship. Right from the start, Glavine was in trouble. By the time the Mets came up for the first time, they were trailing four to nothing. Glavine did not have it yesterday, but then why should he be different than any other Met pitcher. The bullpen once again did not have it and they let Washington pad the lead. Washington never trailed in the game.
The Mets did try to mount a late, ninth inning comeback, but it was too little too late, not by much mind you, but not enough as they lost by one run. If Glavine pitched a little better, if the bullpen did not give up two of those runs, if the Mets had scored a couple of additional runs in an earlier inning, the outcome would have been different and the magic number would be three. If, if, if… that is the problem. The Mets need to stop playing like they think they already clinched and can take it easy. The pitching has got to come through. The bullpen has got to get itself straightened out. I hope they do.
It would be nice to see the rookie, Phil Humber, making his major league debut tonight, come through in a big way. No matter what, he cannot do any worse.
Let’s Go Mets!
Yesterday the steady hands of Tom Glavine were supposed to right the ship. Right from the start, Glavine was in trouble. By the time the Mets came up for the first time, they were trailing four to nothing. Glavine did not have it yesterday, but then why should he be different than any other Met pitcher. The bullpen once again did not have it and they let Washington pad the lead. Washington never trailed in the game.
The Mets did try to mount a late, ninth inning comeback, but it was too little too late, not by much mind you, but not enough as they lost by one run. If Glavine pitched a little better, if the bullpen did not give up two of those runs, if the Mets had scored a couple of additional runs in an earlier inning, the outcome would have been different and the magic number would be three. If, if, if… that is the problem. The Mets need to stop playing like they think they already clinched and can take it easy. The pitching has got to come through. The bullpen has got to get itself straightened out. I hope they do.
It would be nice to see the rookie, Phil Humber, making his major league debut tonight, come through in a big way. No matter what, he cannot do any worse.
Let’s Go Mets!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Time To Turn It Around
The Mets get another crack at the Washington Nationals tonight. It is amazing that a team which the Mets had destroyed, a team that has scored the fewest amount of runs in the National League, has owned the Mets this past week and a half.
The Nationals have beaten us four straight—three in Washington DC and now one at Shea. Is it that the Nationals gear up for the Mets? Is it that Manny Acta takes pride in beating his former team? Perhaps, but I think there is one more possibility that needs to be examined. The Mets flat out suck right now. With the exception of the Marlins, the Mets have not been able to beat pennant contenders, such as the Phillies and they have not been able to beat cellar dwellers, such as the Nationals.
I really think the Mets should consider changing their name right now. Rather than be know as the New York Mets, we should just refer to them as the chokers, because right now, they are choking. Hopefully the Mets will be able to regroup. Hopefully the Mets will gear up, but as I said before, even if they make it to the playoffs, is this a team you feel comfortable with in post season? I don’t. If they get there, I see them being eliminated in the first series. I hope I am wrong, but their play of late has not exactly helped brew confidence. It would be nice if that all changes starting tonight.
Let’s Go Mets!
The Nationals have beaten us four straight—three in Washington DC and now one at Shea. Is it that the Nationals gear up for the Mets? Is it that Manny Acta takes pride in beating his former team? Perhaps, but I think there is one more possibility that needs to be examined. The Mets flat out suck right now. With the exception of the Marlins, the Mets have not been able to beat pennant contenders, such as the Phillies and they have not been able to beat cellar dwellers, such as the Nationals.
I really think the Mets should consider changing their name right now. Rather than be know as the New York Mets, we should just refer to them as the chokers, because right now, they are choking. Hopefully the Mets will be able to regroup. Hopefully the Mets will gear up, but as I said before, even if they make it to the playoffs, is this a team you feel comfortable with in post season? I don’t. If they get there, I see them being eliminated in the first series. I hope I am wrong, but their play of late has not exactly helped brew confidence. It would be nice if that all changes starting tonight.
Let’s Go Mets!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Now Pitching
Now pitching and batting ninth for the New York Mets, The Adjunct Professor. Yes, you read that right. With the way the Mets are playing right now, I could not do any worse than any other pitcher they have. My friends are willing to round out the starting rotation. As for the bullpen, I stopped by the cemetery and just listed some names off the headstones. Right now, the Mets pitching staff is made up of has-beens, never-will-bes, forgot-how-to-pitch pitchers and just flat out bums.
So, the win three games in a row. That third game, they tried to give to the Marlins, but Florida is just so pitiful, they could not take it. So the Mets left Florida with a three game winning streak and winning three of the four games.
Today it was back to the Nationals, this time in Shea. The lowly Nationals continue to show that they have the Mets number. Right now, it looks as if most people do. So if and when this team backs into Post Season, the heartless bunch, the team who is playing with no spirit and no spunk, will probably be eliminated early in the Post Season.
Not to worry, however, because Willie tells us we will be drinking champagne. Right now, that might only be the case if we steal it from the Phillies.
A dear friend of mine told me this team reminds him of the Met teams of the late 80’s, a lot of talent but unable to do anything with it. That really seems to be the case with this team. This team has the players that should be capable of winning. The problem right now, however, is they have no pitching.
Pedro is back and looking good, but he is on a short leash. El Duque is on the shelf. Seems he did this to us last year as well. He is too old to last a season and we probably will not see him in the post season (if we get that far). Maine has been a total screw-up for the second half of the year.
As I said, right now, I could do a better job pitching for the Mets, and that is pretty pathetic, but then again, right now, the Mets are pretty pathetic.
So, the win three games in a row. That third game, they tried to give to the Marlins, but Florida is just so pitiful, they could not take it. So the Mets left Florida with a three game winning streak and winning three of the four games.
Today it was back to the Nationals, this time in Shea. The lowly Nationals continue to show that they have the Mets number. Right now, it looks as if most people do. So if and when this team backs into Post Season, the heartless bunch, the team who is playing with no spirit and no spunk, will probably be eliminated early in the Post Season.
Not to worry, however, because Willie tells us we will be drinking champagne. Right now, that might only be the case if we steal it from the Phillies.
A dear friend of mine told me this team reminds him of the Met teams of the late 80’s, a lot of talent but unable to do anything with it. That really seems to be the case with this team. This team has the players that should be capable of winning. The problem right now, however, is they have no pitching.
Pedro is back and looking good, but he is on a short leash. El Duque is on the shelf. Seems he did this to us last year as well. He is too old to last a season and we probably will not see him in the post season (if we get that far). Maine has been a total screw-up for the second half of the year.
As I said, right now, I could do a better job pitching for the Mets, and that is pretty pathetic, but then again, right now, the Mets are pretty pathetic.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Met-Less
For the first time in a long time I had a 24+ hour break from the New York Mets and it felt wonderful. Friday night and Saturday marked the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. I was in synagogue for a good portion of the time and really did not think about the Mets or follow anything about them for Friday night’s game as well as Saturday’s game. Considering all they have put me through lately, it felt good to go Metless for a day.
I did pick up the paper this morning to see if I could get a score for Friday night’s game. Due to a rain delay, the paper did not have the final. I really was fine with this. I could have asked at services today and gotten a score (I know where the Met fans sit) but I made a conscious decision not to, to focus on my prayers.
This evening, upon coming home and breaking my fast, I did check the computer and found out that the Mets won both games, Friday and Saturday. That was a nice feeling, to see that the Mets won both of the games and knocked their magic number down to seven. With eight games left, it is nice to know that the Mets still control their own destiny. They can clinch even if Philadelphia wins every game they have left.
I would prefer if it did not take that long, if the Phils helped us out and started losing some games. I really do not want to wait until the penultimate game of the season for the Mets to clinch. Still, we can do it. We control our fate.
I took a little time away and now I am reading to start following once again. Hopefully we handle the Marlins as easily tomorrow as they did today and reduce the magic number to at least six (and five if Washington wants to help us out and do to the Phillies what they did to the Mets.
Fasten your seatbelts, I have a feeling this will be a fascinating last week of the season.
Let’s Go Mets!
I did pick up the paper this morning to see if I could get a score for Friday night’s game. Due to a rain delay, the paper did not have the final. I really was fine with this. I could have asked at services today and gotten a score (I know where the Met fans sit) but I made a conscious decision not to, to focus on my prayers.
This evening, upon coming home and breaking my fast, I did check the computer and found out that the Mets won both games, Friday and Saturday. That was a nice feeling, to see that the Mets won both of the games and knocked their magic number down to seven. With eight games left, it is nice to know that the Mets still control their own destiny. They can clinch even if Philadelphia wins every game they have left.
I would prefer if it did not take that long, if the Phils helped us out and started losing some games. I really do not want to wait until the penultimate game of the season for the Mets to clinch. Still, we can do it. We control our fate.
I took a little time away and now I am reading to start following once again. Hopefully we handle the Marlins as easily tomorrow as they did today and reduce the magic number to at least six (and five if Washington wants to help us out and do to the Phillies what they did to the Mets.
Fasten your seatbelts, I have a feeling this will be a fascinating last week of the season.
Let’s Go Mets!
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