PLANE CRAZY

Well, maybe we'll school them. It was a pretty good weekend in the desert, as the Mets took two of three from the young and formidable Snakes. Game 1 was pretty much a laugher from the outset. Jose Reyes led off with a triple, and everything went downhill from there for would-be Rick Ankiel impersonator Micah Owings. The D-Backs got two runs back off John Maine in the second, but that was all they could muster for the whole game. Maine went six strong, and Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano and Duaner Sanchez were scoreless in the final three for a 7-2 final. I was in the Minneapolis Airport until about the 7th when my plane finally took off (my 7:11 pm flight left at 11 pm CDT!) I had to shut down my laptop at about 10 pm to make sure I didn't miss the boarding announcements. They bumped me to first class, so I officially cannot complain. I think that's in my frequent flyer contract somewhere, near where it says, "This airline makes no promises of actual transportation whatsoever."

Game 2 was a laugher in the other direction. The guffawing started as soon as Duaner Sanchez entered the game in the 8th with the Mets trailing 5-4. At least for once it wasn't Heilman! Carlos Delgado had only recently hit a three-run homer off Arizona ace Brandon Webb to put the Mets within hailing distance, but the usually reliable Sanchez had a major meltdown, giving up five singles, a walk, and a wild pitch in 1/3 of an inning before Scotty Schoeneweis finished the inning and allowed three more runners to score to give Arizona a 10-4 victory. I missed this entire game because of those wonderful MLB.TV blackout rules. They read like the frequent flyer contract; "MLB.TV makes no promise of actual entertainment delivered whatsoever." Well, I only would have been able to watch it on Fox on a tiny TV screen at Retama Park, where I was betting on (and losing my shirt on) the Kentucky Derby. Stupid chalk. RIP Eight Belles, you ran a hell of a race.

The rubber game (starring Royce Ring - that's an old joke from my Phillies blog a couple of years ago) featured Johan Santana and Danny Haren. The D-Backs have two aces, plus Randy Johnson, so we were bound to get at least one if not two of them. David Wright wasn't too impressed, hitting a massive homer to left to make it 2-0 in the 4th. Catcher Chris Snyder hit a (literally) ringing triple off the top of the fence in left to make the score 2-1, and then after a bases-loaded escape by Santana in the 6th, Joe Smith immediately surrendered the lead on a hit, a walk, and a broken-bat dunker by Mark Reynolds. I joined the game in progress right as Santana was getting out of the 6th, after buying some sweet new cross-trainers with the money I didn't win at the track.

The game stayed tied 2-2 until the 9th, and I was figuring the Mets bullpen would come up with another way to lose, especially after Chad Qualls and his 0.00 ERA made his appearance. Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou (looking pretty good for an old man) greeted Qualls with singles, and as Delgado was coming up, everyone in the known universe was thinking double play. Carlos tapped a roller to 1st, and Conor Jackson wheeled to throw to second. I was thinking, well, it was probably hit too slowly for a DP, so the worst we'll get is 1st and 3rd. How about 1st and 2nd and a run in? Jackson's throw zoomed over the head of Augie Ojeda into left field, scoring Beltran and sending about 10,000 people out into the 110 degree heat of their parked cars. Brian Schneider moved the runners up with a sac bunt, and then Bob Melvin elected to walk Luis Castillo to load the bases for another possible DP. Marlon Anderson would have none of it, smashing a first-pitch pinch-hit single (#67 of his career) to right for the fourth run, and Jose Reyes followed with a a sac fly for the final score of 5-2. Chad Qualls new ERA: 0.51.

With the Phillies and Marlins winning, the Phils maintained their half-game lead over us and Florida. The Braves are 11-4 at home, and 4-11 on the road! The Phils have to go in to Chase Field and try to beat these guys now, while we head off to LA, in between my trips there. A bunch of co-workers are going to the Tuesday game with tickets I bought for them. So cruel.