This will be quick. I have no patience for these guys anymore. When guys like Robinson Cancel are getting game-winning RBI's, even if he is playing for the Mets, does it really matter?
The Mets blew a perfectly good 4-0 lead last Thursday afternoon to Arizona. I was following on ESPN's GameCast, and I saw it coming from 12 inches away (the distance from me to my monitor). First, in the 8th, Joe Smith relieved Johan Santana, who had been outstanding as usual, and gave up a RBI triple to Mark Reynolds to cut the lead in half. Then in the 9th Billy Wagner reprised his role of two days ago, and gave up the tying runs, although this time the tying run itself scored on a groundout that was nearly a game-ending DP. Then Aaron Heilman came in to start the 10th. Need I say more?
On Friday, New York cruised to a 7-1 win over Texas behind Oliver Perez, of all people. Oliver had one of his increasingly rare good days, giving up only three hits and three walks in seven innings. No one particularly shone on offense, with several players contributing timely hits. It was the kind of game that makes you even more angry at all the other games.
Saturday was a rainout, and with the Rangers only in town for one trip and needing to get away early, a traditional doubleheader was scheduled for Sunday. I was blacked out from watching the game on MLB.TV because the Rangers, some 300 miles away, are in my "home area", and were supposedly on Fox Sports Southwest, although they weren't showing up on my TV. Texas took a 1-0 lead off John Maine in the 3rd with an Ian Kinsler home run, but Carlos Delgado tied it in the 5th with a round-tripper of his own. Ramon Vazquez hit a two-run homer in the 5th, and then Carlos Beltran answered with a homer of his own in the 6th to make it 3-2. Maine started the 7th, but then the bullpen was summoned, and all hell broke loose, as usual. Pedro Feliciano gave up a two-run single to Vazquez, and Kinsler hit another dinger to put the game apparently on ice. The Mets battled back with three in the 8th and two in the 9th, but newly acquired former Diamondback Trot Nixon was stranded at 2nd for the 8-7 final.
The second game was a relaxed affair before friends and family, as most of the first game patrons had gone home to see if Tiger Woods could win the US Open on a gimpy knee (answer - probably, but not until today). That's what I was watching also, until my wife and I went to dinner and saw the game on Fox Sports Southwest on one of the establishment's TV's. After we got home, I checked the channel on the HD side, and got nothing but a test-pattern. I then checked the Low Def channel, and even though something called "Sports Science" was scheduled, there were the Mets and Rangers at Shea. So, I guess MLB.TV was right! Now, why is the HD channel not running when the Low Def channel is?
In any event, the Mets erased an early 2-0 deficit and rallied back to tie and then take the lead behind Petey. The first two scored on back-to-back RBI singles by David Wright and Beltran, and the final two came in on a hit by the aforementioned Cancel. What an appropriate name for an '08 Met! Pedro and the bullpen retired the final 16 Rangers batters and the Mets won 4-2. Maybe the Mets should restrict attendance at home games for the rest of the year. The bullpen seemed to like the relative quiet.
The series win puts us within two games of .500, looking up longingly at the Phillies, who lost two of three to St. Louis. Nothing has changed, and undoubtedly not much will for some time. Alou is back on the DL, and Trot Nixon is not the player Alou is even though he is over six years younger. Ryan Church may be back soon, but who knows how long he'll stay. The bullpen isn't going anywhere, and that's the biggest shame.
Hey, another trip to California! Just what we need.
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