Episode II: Attack Of The Roller Coasters...And Make It A Double

So was today the floor wax, or was today the dessert topping?

Huh?

There was an old Saturday Night Live skit years and years ago, where two people are arguing whether the substance in the spray can was a floor wax or a dessert topping. Chevy Chase, in one of the last years that he was funny...in anything...appeared to settle the dispute.

Allow me, during this trying time, to be Chevy.

So who was to blame for today's meltdown? Who's to blame for plunging the Mets from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows? Was it the floor wax? Was it the dessert topping?

First, Willie Randolph. Let's call Willie the floor wax. I got called out today to basically rip Willie apart in today's edition of this little blog, and he does deserve to be questioned, if not ripped. Hindsight, yes. But Billy "Country Time" Wagner had no business being in this game when he was...day game after a night game...in a non-save situation. If you bring your closer into a game in a non-save situation, and he makes it a save situation because he doesn't have it as Wagner did today...then what do you do? That situation came to fruition today. Willie was stuck with replacing a lefty with a lefty in Feliciano to face Johnny Damon, which was to me, an embarrassment. And add that to the fact that Wagner feels he's being overworked, then you have a recipe for disaster putting him in for a day game after a night game. Now if Feliciano or, heaven forbid (drench those last two words in sarcasm for me, would ya?), Duaner Sanchez starts the inning, then Wagner has to come in for the save and he blows it, then it's on Wagner.

But this should be on Wagner, the dessert topping in this scenario. This isn't a Yankee lineup that contains Sheffield, Matsui, or Posada. All Billy Wagner had to do, even after allowing hits to Giambi and Cano which sandwiched a walk to Rodriguez, was retire Melky Cabrera and Kelly Stinnett. Getting those two out doesn't require 24 hours of rest. And it doesn't require careful pitching.

He walked them both. Inexcusable.

This was the point that should have been obvious to take Wagner out...at least that's what I thought at the time (see, this rant isn't completely based on hindsight). Instead, Wagner cashed in a couple of his experience/tenure chips to earn himself one more batter, Bernie Williams. And he hits him to force in another run. Now I thought this was a blessing in disguise because Bernie, I'm convinced, would have tied the game with a hit. But now, Willie had to replace Wagner with Feliciano, completing the backwards progression (can you have backwards progression?) of bullpen usage. And even though Feliciano did what he could by almost getting the double play, the Mets, Randolph, and Wagner, got exactly what they deserved today. They deserved to have Mariano even the Sandman score by striking out the side for the save, just as Wagner struck out the side for his victory last night.

So is it the floor wax, or is it the dessert topping?

My answer to you now is the same as Chevy's was thirty years ago: "You're both right."

Randolph deserves the blame for reminding us of Art Howe. Wagner deserves the blame for reminding us of Braden Looper.

You're both right.