Shake your head. Sigh. And ask yourself, what could possibly happen next?
That is about all Jerry Manuel or any New York Mets’ fan could do last night when the Cardinals’ struggling Chris Duncan blasted a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of St. Louis’ 8-7 victory last night.
Well, what happened next was a ninth-inning, game-ending solo shot by Troy Glaus, but that was almost a guaranteed given after the light-hitting Duncan spoiled what had been a relentless, valiant offensive effort on behalf of the Mets.
The Mets have lost games by almost every way imaginable this season. Some may say “that’s just baseball” or “it will even out over the course of a long season,” but when a man hitting .107 against left-handers amid other woes crushes the first pitch he sees off your lefty specialist for a round tripper, what is there to say?
After his team battled back to take a 7-5 lead following a disappointing start from Pedro Martinez, Manuel, who may not fully understand the concept of a double switch (see Yankees-Mets on June 28), played it right in setting up the lefty-lefty match-up against Duncan.
A fourth outfielder at best on the Major League level, Duncan is now batting .242 with six homers over 65 games. Some may remember him as the man all Mets’ pitchers wanted to face during the 2006 NLCS (it certainly wasn’t Yadier Molina or So Taguchi). He went 1-for-8 during that series, playing in only five of the seven games.
And there Duncan was last night, adding to the growing number of miserable Mets’ moments this season. Moments where Billy Wagner squandered Mike Pelfrey’s best career start one night and came back the next day to rain on Johan Santana’s gem. Moments when the Mets win in Anaheim, home of baseball’s best manager, but lose in San Diego, home of baseball’s worst record at the time.
So there were the Mets again last night. They had overcome a tough start from Martinez (5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 K) pounded out a few clutch hits to take a 7-5 lead. What looked like (dare we say?) a win to build upon turned into another head-scratching, stunning disappointment that begs the question, what will happen next?
The Mets have been living this tease of a season for 84 games now. Conventional wisdom may say something's gotta give eventually, but the last year and a half have been anything but conventional for the Mets (and being the first team to blow a seven-game lead with 17 to play is just the tip of the iceberg).
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Quick Hits: Tampa Bay swept the BoSawx once again. Could the Rays be baseball's version of surprise Beantown busters? The Giants humbled the arrogant, elitist New England fan base. Unfortunately, Kobe and the Lakers couldn't follow suit, but that is because LA's engine was missing its Diesel. ... Roger Federer has made it through to the Wimbledon semis once again where he will face Russian Marat Safin. I never thought that could have been possible after listening to all the pathetic pundits that suggested Federer had something to prove at this year's tournament. Despite his failure to win either of the first two majors, which includes a disastrous showing in the Roland Garros final, Federer, arguably the best player in world history, does not have a damned thing to prove at this stage of his remarkable career. Everyone must have forgotten that Federer is the only man in history to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back-to-back for four successive seasons and I'm betting he will do it again.
That is about all Jerry Manuel or any New York Mets’ fan could do last night when the Cardinals’ struggling Chris Duncan blasted a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of St. Louis’ 8-7 victory last night.
Well, what happened next was a ninth-inning, game-ending solo shot by Troy Glaus, but that was almost a guaranteed given after the light-hitting Duncan spoiled what had been a relentless, valiant offensive effort on behalf of the Mets.
The Mets have lost games by almost every way imaginable this season. Some may say “that’s just baseball” or “it will even out over the course of a long season,” but when a man hitting .107 against left-handers amid other woes crushes the first pitch he sees off your lefty specialist for a round tripper, what is there to say?
After his team battled back to take a 7-5 lead following a disappointing start from Pedro Martinez, Manuel, who may not fully understand the concept of a double switch (see Yankees-Mets on June 28), played it right in setting up the lefty-lefty match-up against Duncan.
A fourth outfielder at best on the Major League level, Duncan is now batting .242 with six homers over 65 games. Some may remember him as the man all Mets’ pitchers wanted to face during the 2006 NLCS (it certainly wasn’t Yadier Molina or So Taguchi). He went 1-for-8 during that series, playing in only five of the seven games.
And there Duncan was last night, adding to the growing number of miserable Mets’ moments this season. Moments where Billy Wagner squandered Mike Pelfrey’s best career start one night and came back the next day to rain on Johan Santana’s gem. Moments when the Mets win in Anaheim, home of baseball’s best manager, but lose in San Diego, home of baseball’s worst record at the time.
So there were the Mets again last night. They had overcome a tough start from Martinez (5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 K) pounded out a few clutch hits to take a 7-5 lead. What looked like (dare we say?) a win to build upon turned into another head-scratching, stunning disappointment that begs the question, what will happen next?
The Mets have been living this tease of a season for 84 games now. Conventional wisdom may say something's gotta give eventually, but the last year and a half have been anything but conventional for the Mets (and being the first team to blow a seven-game lead with 17 to play is just the tip of the iceberg).
----------
Quick Hits: Tampa Bay swept the BoSawx once again. Could the Rays be baseball's version of surprise Beantown busters? The Giants humbled the arrogant, elitist New England fan base. Unfortunately, Kobe and the Lakers couldn't follow suit, but that is because LA's engine was missing its Diesel. ... Roger Federer has made it through to the Wimbledon semis once again where he will face Russian Marat Safin. I never thought that could have been possible after listening to all the pathetic pundits that suggested Federer had something to prove at this year's tournament. Despite his failure to win either of the first two majors, which includes a disastrous showing in the Roland Garros final, Federer, arguably the best player in world history, does not have a damned thing to prove at this stage of his remarkable career. Everyone must have forgotten that Federer is the only man in history to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back-to-back for four successive seasons and I'm betting he will do it again.
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3 comments:
salvatore...you missed the boat chief, the sonics have left seattles, what are your thoughts, people on the west coast want to know...don't you have love for detlef schrempf, etc.
yes Mr. Anonymous, it is a sad day for the Pacific Northwest. The beloved Sonics and memories of Shawn Kemp and his 45 kids are fading away. The question is...what happens to the WNBA franchise if the NBA franchise moves?
NOBAMA 08'
who cares about the wnba
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