Earlier in the season Johan Santana was criticized for not demanding to stay in and finish games, for not throwing much more than 100 pitches and basically for not winning games single-handedly. After begging Jerry Manuel to let him pitch yesterday, he came through with one of the greatest clutch performances in Mets history, leading the team to a 2-0 victory.
With the whole season on the line, he twirled a complete-game three-hit shutout, striking out nine and walking three. Pitching on three days rest, he followed up his career-high 125-pitch victorious effort on Tuesday night with a 117-pitch gem yesterday afternoon. He just seems to get better with every game. He’s the true definition of an ace, a stopper, whatever else you want to call it. Has he earned every cent of his contract so far? You bet. I’m just surprised he didn’t hit the game-winning home run as well.
Manuel shook up his lineup trying to jump-start his offense. They didn’t do a lot but it was …
With only two games left in the regular season, it’s the Mets who wake up this morning and find themselves on the outside looking in, while the Phillies clinched a tie for the NL East, and the Brewers are one step closer to making the post season for the first time since 1982.
Recap of Friday’s Action:
On a misty night in South Philadelphia, the Phillies got on the board early. Ryan Howard’s three-run home run (his major league-leading 48th), in the first inning, gave the Phillies a quick 3-0 lead. The Nationals got on the board in the second when Elijah Dukes scored on a Luke Montz single, making the score 3-1. In the second the Phillies added to their lead when Chase Utley hit a bases clearing double, and scored when Howard doubled, giving the Phillies a commanding 7-1 lead. The Nats scored two more in the fifth (courtesy of a Ryan Howard error), and one in the six to make …
Did the Mets even show up for this game? Maybe I missed it. The season’s on the line, and this is what they came up with? While the Phillies and Brewers were winning, the Mets looked soggy and hungover from Thursday’s win. Too bad the game didn’t get rained out.
Mike Pelfrey did his best Pedro Martinez impression by letting in two first-inning runs. He settled down for the next four frames, then coughed up a home run in the sixth. His final line: six innings pitched, three runs, eight hits, three strikeouts, no walks. Not bad really, but he didn’t get any help from anybody else. Seven relievers (again) followed Pelfrey, highlighted by Aaron Heilman throwing a ball to the backstop to walk in a run (it’s like deja vu all over again). Why is he even allowed near the field in a crucial game like this? And Daniel Murphy didn’t help the cause when he tried to deke a runner into thinking he was going …
The Mets were seven and a half games out, and in fourth place in June. They fired their manager. They haven’t had a closer for the last two months. Their #2 starter’s been out for over a month. Their left fielder missed most of the season. The guy who replaced him is out for the year. Their right fielder missed half the year. The jumble of second basemen has missed a chunk of games, and now their fourth-stringer is starting. They have arguably the worst bullpen in baseball. Yet here they are, still with a chance at post-season play. On the one hand, they scratched, clawed and fought their way back into contention. But on the other, even with all those injuries, they’ve flushed a plethora of almost-certain victories right down the toilet.
And now they’re down to the last three games. The Mets are one game behind Philadelphia and tied with …
The Mets crawled back from the dead after Wednesday’s absolute nightmare, with a stirring 7-6 victory last night. Late-inning drama? Check. Nail-biting tension? Check. Crazy plays? Check. Five different relievers? Check. Must be a late-season Mets game. Jose Reyes led off the bottom of the ninth with a base hit, and this time his teammates were able to get him home. Carlos Beltran provided the heroics, by smashing a line drive down the first-base line that deflected off Micah Hoffpauir’s glove and trickled into right field, while Reyes raced home with the winning run.
Playing most of the game in the rain (both bullpens spent the first half of the contest building an ark just to be on the safe side), the Cubs fielded a team of scrubs while the Mets fielded Pedro Martinez. It was a typical Pedro outing. He let in his usual two runs in the first, only one more over the next five frames and left the game after allowing the first two batters to …
As we enter the final weekend of the season, all three teams fighting for the final two playoff spots are within a game of each other. While the Phillies had the day off, the Mets and Brewers both won, and like in any playoff race, they won in dramatic fashion. This will be the final series of the season for one of these three teams.
Recap of Thursday’s Action:
In Flushing, weather was a concern. A Nor’easter was rolling up the coast, threatening to postpone the game. Thankfully the weather gods held off so the Cubs and Mets were able to play, but this game will be talked about not for what happened on the field (which we’ll get to shortly), but what happened before the game. When Brewers and Phillies fans got home from work, and checked the starting lineups for the game, the Cubs lineup looked a bit strange. Missing was Alfonso Soriano, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, & Mark DeRosa. …
With rain scheduled for the next four days, who knows when the Mets will play again. They had a golden opportunity to tie the Phillies in the loss column last night, but instead decided to take a fork and stab Mets fans in the eye with it. With the Phillies loss and the Brewers win, the Mets are now tied for the wild card lead and remain a game and a half behind Philadelphia. With the fourth game of the series no lock to be played, here’s what happened in the first three games.
Monday, Cubs 9-5: Nightmare at Shea
Ron Burgundy couldn’t have summed up Jon Niese’s troubles any better: “Boy, that escalated quickly…I mean, that really got out of hand.” Ok, maybe Niese isn’t ready for the big leagues yet. After pitching eight shutout innings in his last start, this one was a …
With only four days in the regular season, things are tightening up. The Phillies, who lead the way, continue to struggle and have started to scoreboard watch. Fortunately for them, the Mets failed to capitalize, falling to the Cubs. The Brewers continued to stay hot and look like a different team then the one that took the field during the first three weeks of September. As we approach the final weekend of the season, three teams are within two games of each other.
Recap of Wednesday’s Action:
Brett Myers followed a poor start at Florida, with another poor start last night. Myers had no command of his fastball and gave up six runs on ten hits, in four-and-a-third innings, as the Braves beat the Phillies 10-4. Chipper Jones’ three-run pinch hit home run in the fifth inning, iced the game for the Braves. Although the Phillies lost, it didn’t mean there weren’t any fireworks. In the eighth inning with the Braves leading 10-4, Shane Victorino …
Last night I headed out to Shea and watched the Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 to stay one game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League wild card spot. But before I recap the experience, a quick back story:
Back in July, my wife calls me at work excited, telling me her job was giving out Mets tickets and that she got two for us. She’s doesn’t like baseball so she told me to take a friend to the game. Fast forward to yesterday. While sitting in the nose bleed seats in right field with my friend “H” a group of about 50 adults come into the section, all at the same time. To say this group of people were, “enthusastic” would be an understatement. From the start they were excited to be there. Singing along (badly) with the national anthem, shouting (constant) “encouragement” to the players, and voicing (forcefully)displeasure with the umpires. But something just was “different” about this group of fans. Then it hit …
Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz.
1. The full name of the Queens stadium is William A. Shea Municipal Stadium.
2. Shea opened in 1964.
3. The first game the Mets played at Shea was against the Pirates on April 17, 1964. They lost to Pittsburgh 4-3. Willie Stargell hit the first-ever home run there in that game.
4. The Beatles played at Shea twice, on August 15th, 1965, and August 23rd, 1966.
5. The Jets played at Shea from 1964 to ’83.
6. Johnny Callison of the Phillies hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth to win the 1964 All-Star game, the only one played at Shea.
7. The Apple …
The race got a little tighter last night after the Brewers and Mets found victory, while the Phillies were never able to get the offense going.
Recap of Monday’s Action:
The Phillies offense finally took the night off, but some credit had to be given to Braves starter, Mike Hampton. Hampton allowed two runs on six hits, over six innings. Cole Hamels allowed three runs (two earned), and eight hits, over seven innings, but his box score doesn’t really reflect how he pitched. Hamels struggled through the first four innings, and his third inning throw into left field on an errant pickoff attempt allowed Kelly Johnson to score, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead.
The Mets bounced back against the Cubs in a big way. After finding themselves in an early 2-0 hole, the Mets scored two runs in the fifth and another four in the sixth, to beat the Cubs 6-2. Johan Santana was dominant, going eight innings, allowing two runs on …
This is the last year for Shea Stadium. It may be a dump that smells like a sewer, but it’s our dump that smells like a sewer. Take the quiz and see how much you know about the Queens stadium. The answers will be posted tomorrow.
1. What is the full name of Shea Stadium?
2. What year did Shea open?
3. What team did the Mets play in their first-ever game at Shea?
4. How many times did the Beatles play there?
5. How many years did the Jets play in Queens?
6. Who hit the game-winning home run in the only All-Star game played at Shea in 1964?
7. What year was the Apple installed?…
