Boy, that ninth inning scared the Orosco out of me.Somewhere, the ghost of Randy Myers is having a good chuckle as Country Time decided to pull the ultimate escape act, as he loaded the bases only to get the next two batters to provide three outs in a 4-3 Mets thriller.
Maybe, as much as Chris Russo gets on my nerves, maybe he's right when he says that there's been something missing from the 2007 Mets as opposed to the 2006 Mets. While it's hardly a fair statement considering that the 2006 Mets were like that perfect regular season storm that comes once in a generation, it may have been true up until tonight.
You see when Orlando Hernandez was victimized by a two out walk to Willie Harris that turned into three Braves runs, it seemed that that something missing was going to remain missing, with Atlanta winning yet another series from the Mets.
But in the battle of trade deadline acquisitions set in the backdrop of National League East battle, Castillo defeated Mahay to get the Mets even with the Braves at three apiece in the seventh. You must understand how much pressure was packed in that at-bat...the difference between John Schuerholz being anointed a genius for all time, and Omar Minaya saying "Ha, take that you Liberty Media Slut!" (Honestly, I don't even know what that means.) And considering my admitted Luis Castillo man crush, it held higher stakes than even that. If Castillo strikes out, it's my butt on the line here.
Wrong again. Castillo ties the game, and takes the first step on the road to Brave slaying.
Then there's Moises Alou...the walking conundrum. Sure, we want David Wright and Carlos Delgado to hit. But we also want Moises Alou to hit with the bases empty, where he stood at .338 this season with three of his four home runs coming in...and not with runners in scoring position where he is at .167 entering Wednesday, including a rally killing double play on Tuesday. It's the catch 22 of life, and we're stuck with it. Even when he does hit a home run his reward is Jose Reyes making fun of his swing. What a drag it is getting old.Billy Wagner pulling one out of the John Franco playbook though, is no drag. Loading the bases with nobody out and still coming out on top is exciting, exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Maybe that's what we've been missing...a mind-blowing escape act that you can put in the win column.
And on your cardiology report.
3 comments:
There were two pitches in that Willie Harris at-bat that were called balls. Both were outside by the width of a young blonde one. If either was called a strike then Duque was out of the inning, the Braves are shut out, and you would have been spared your Maalox Moment in the 9th. Is it my imagination or are our pitchers being squeezed this season? I hate Larry Jones.
No pressure here... I was out last night and had the game recorded on my DVR. Belatedly, I was thrilled by the Mets comeback. Then, after the top of the 9th (with the game running long), the taping was finished. Just to be safe, I checked the results on my PC to find out about the 9th inning tightrope act. I was spared that entire spectacle.
Never before has Wagner's meltdown vs. the Yankees seemed so long ago...
P.S. Am watching game right now and Larry F***ing Jones has just hit a 3-run homer to give Braves lead.
And now new hate-list candidate Mark Teixeira blasts one back-to-back.
DAMN!
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