I don't think they've ever made a movie about that whole Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan situation. But if they ever did, you could easily cast So Taguchi as Jeff Gillooly. Playing the part of Kerrigan would be me in the fetal position screaming "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Because that's basically what I do every time So Gillooly picks up a bat. Or is that a crowbar that he takes to the knees and ankles of Met fans?(Playing Tonya Harding in my Lifetime movie of the week would have to be that pain in the ass Shane Victorino ... only instead of a wedding video, Victorino would just dress up in a t-shirt that says "F-the Mets" with a Hawaiian grass skirt and he'd just do the hula ... or maybe that "I'm safe" dance he did at second base ... on the Shea Stadium mound all night.)
I mean, you have to be kidding me. Victorino, Taguchi, and Jimmy Rollins in the same six-run ninth inning rally? I'm shocked that Larry Jones wasn't instantly traded to the Phillies so he could have followed Rollins to the plate and put an end to the Mets franchise right then and there. And maybe Yadier Molina, Brian Jordan, and Terry Pendleton could have all come out wearing Phillies uniforms with crowbars in a conga line while taking their hacks at the pinata that is the Mets bullpen.
Not for nothing, but f**k!
Of course, people will be asking themselves if Johan Santana should have pitched the ninth inning. First off, Snoop Manuel gave an informed reason as to why he didn't trot Santana out, that he's very rarely gone past 100 pitches. Fine. And for those of you who scream at me hoping for a return to the old days where pitchers went nine innings, forget it. Outside of Roy Halladay, those days are dead and buried forever. Tony "I'm a genius" La Russa blew up the baseball landscape, it's time to move on.
But the most important reason to not bother complaining about that is that it doesn't matter who pitched the ninth inning because ...
wait for it ...
protecting a three run lead with three outs to go shouldn't be that hard!!!
Should it?
That's why Gary Cohen giving us the "this bullpen, thrust into unfamiliar roles ..." made me a little crazy (as if the bullpen didn't make me crazy enough to throw my shoe). No! No! No! Your role is to win the game!
You play ...
to win ...
the game!!!
Three outs, three run lead. At that point, is it really necessary to be a "ninth inning guy" to get three outs? One run lead, yes. There's definitely a difference between a set-up guy in the role of closer ... and a closer. Three run lead? Stop. Get three outs.
Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Think about it. Have you ever seen So Taguchi and Jeff Gillooly in the same place at the same time?
And Luis Aguayo, I'm on to you. Endy Chavez doesn't get thrown out at home plate twice in one game unless he has help. You ran Jesse Orosco out of town with your season killing home run, and now you're back to finish the job like you were the villain in some awful sequel starring Steven Seagal. Now that Tom Glavine is gone the agency had to infiltrate the premises with another spy. And despite Jose Reyes' dopey decision to try to beat Victorino to second base instead of throwing out a slow-footed catcher (a move that would have had Hugh Fullerton circling his scorecard if it was 1919) my ... first ... guess ... is ... you.The truth is out there, Aguayo.
28 comments:
It's deja vu all over again... :(
That hurt.
Either Aguayo was trying to get Chavez killed or he was under some delusion that the next batter was Mario Mendoza.
I do have to admit - even after such a brutal loss, it is nice to be able to come here, and at least get a laugh.
Metstra, if you play to win the game, then why do you take out your best pitcher? This was a pure Willie move and is the first bad move by Jerry, so I'll give him a pass. I mean without your regular closer you decide to take a guy out because he's barely over 100 pitches? Ask the dude if he could go another inning, Santana said he would gone out. Pelfrey would have demanded it, so would have Pedro is his prime. Santana is our ace, it's his job to close that game out last night not rely on someone else.
All in all this game was no worse than any we have seen this season so everyone relax. I think the back to back Pelfrey/Santana games where they both went 8 and then the team lost the game were worse.
this bullpen is a nightmare. the bigger the spot the worse they will be. no exceptions.
Metstradamus, if Johan had pitched the ninth, and blown his own save, at least it would have been a new and unexpected way for us to lose.
Do you think he is sorry he was traded to the Mets? I expected to awake this mornign to the headline "Santana drowns self in giant vat of JR Watkins Apothecary Liniment"
"this bullpen, thrust into unfamiliar roles ..."
Oh there was absolutely some thrusting going on last night, and we were on the receiving end of things.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
FUCK!
That was brutal. Wanted to take an Ambien to get to sleep.
Then on to my train into Philly avoiding all talk of the game, open newspapers and Phillies hats.
Thanks Duaner, Jose and Pedro!
BWAHAHAHAHAH! Mutt$ lose! Mutt$ lose!!
Life is good!
No way Mutt$ win tonight with the leaking Maine on the mound. I'm flying to vegas to make a fortune betting against your sorry New York Mutt$
Life is good!
MD - hysterical post. I didn't I'd be able to laugh this morning. The "wait for it" line got me, as well as the Aguayo conspiracy.
Three outs before three runs score? Whether Santana or Sanchez, you close it out. Period.
I just can't buy the "this happens sometimes . . . we'll get 'em tomorrow". This happens way too much with this team. How many brutal losses have we suffered just like this one in the past two years? How many multiple run leads can be blow? Whether its the bullpen, the failure to tack on runs, or making poor decisions in the field, this team can't stand prosperity.
The Phils came into this series having big time trouble scoring runs. They even looked like the completely lost confidence through the first 8 innings. So what do we do? Say "Hey Phils. Here's a gift win for you. We'll let the bottom half of your order wreak havoc in the ninth. And, oh yeah, take some big time momentum into the next two games of this series."
And how about some toughness? Anyone see the quotes today from Rollins in the NY Times? He totally trashed Beltran. Is someone going to take him out at second base? Is Ty Wigginton available?
Remember me? I curse you for eternity. hahaha! Your season is tanked just like it was in 1989!
From Ben Shpigel's blog - http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/?8dpc
"the last time the Mets lost after leading by three or more runs heading into the ninth inning was on Sept. 20, 2007, in Florida … when Wagner was unavailable because of back spasms"
and
"the Phillies have now scored in the ninth inning in three straight games with the Mets, going ahead twice and nearly winning the third time"
The rest of the post is worth reading too.
I love how Gary cohen opened the ninth saying this would be the culmination of a great comeback for Duaner Sanchez. Ha Ha Losers. You need to get real broadcasters like Michael Kay and Al Leiter. Notice how the first chance he got Al jumped ship from your loser organization to a real team. Enjoy your decript, rotting collection of has-beens
Met fans, did you get your revenge for the Subway series yet? o thats right, your pathetic organization has won 6 playoff games since. Enjoy another summer of mediocrity and irrelevency
Aye Dios Mio! Que Paso con los MUTTS?!
I was there last night but, thankfully, left during the bottom of the 8th despite the objections of one of my sons (the other was happy because I let him get a souvenir). The only joy I have is the number of Philly fans that were walking down the ramp at the same time we were so I know that they all missed the 9th as well. What a brutal loss. Of course, all of the talk about this undoing everything that has happened over the past few weeks is a bit premature and ridiculous.
Just to switch gears for a moment:
They DID make a movie about the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926143/
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go attempt to re-assemble some destroyed furniture.
fantasieryck - Come on, destroyed furniture? Tell me you did not see this coming the INSTANT they announced Johan was not going to pitch the ninth?
I jumped up right then and announced I was taking the dog for a long walk. My son said, Are you crazy it's raining and lightning outside! When I returned, though, he met me at the door - Don't come in! Bases loaded and no outs! So I sat outside on the porch til it was all over.
Is there any player on this team that Manuel trusts? Does he think if he changes pitchers enough times he'll get to pitch himself?
How often does trying to piece together an inning off of matchups actually work? Just throw a guy out there and let him actually pitch!
I think he should've left Santana in.
Sanchez in.
Smith in.
I think any of those three might have worked.
BTW Yankees4life - since the Subway Series yr pathetic organization has been shown to have had a dynasty built off a roster riddled with steroid freaks, had the greatest closer ever become the only closer to blow a save in the 9th inning of a 7th game in the WS ever, be the first team to lose a series after being up 3-0 and spend 1300 million dollars to land just that. Take yr scum bag attitude to a Stanks site, your stench doesn't fit in here.
ha ha ha, blastro's so cute when he tries to defend his decrepit franchise. I wish i could respond, but the Mets have been so irrelevent that I cant think of anything even about that sorry sack even worth mentioning.
Relax, blastro. They're just kids that have tired of contemplating the acne on their faces, the lack of hair in, uh, important areas, and wondering why they have no friends but Johnny Palm and His Five Fingers.
Tim,
A tired Santana could have just as easily given up a couple of hits in the ninth and then we'd be talking about the move the other way.
When Mike Pelfrey talked Willie Randolph into starting the ninth inning after pitching eight strong, that decision was not only killed, but it was the catalyst of the final round of rumors that ultimately led to Willie's firing when the bullpen came in and blew that game.
I thought that was silly to blame Randolph for that, just as it's silly to get on Manuel for this. Because ultimately, those kind of moves work out 50/50 ... so that's debatable. What's not debatable is that when your bullpen gives up six runs in the ninth with a three run lead, you'll lose 99% of the time.
For me, this isn't a move that puts the team in a bad position to win like, say, putting Scott Schoeneweis in to pitch a full inning against three righties. This was a move that shouldn't have mattered ... a fresh reliever with a three run lead. I wouldn't say that Sanchez was put in a bad position to win. He's gotta get 3 outs.
Quote from Brett Myers on SNY:
"I can't think of a better team for me to come back against," Myers told the Phillies' official Web site. "I don't like them. We're not supposed to like them. Nothing against the guys on the team - they're our rivals."
Hope this is on the bulletin board tonight.
Myers has said this before ... at the beginning of last season he talked the same kinda smack.
Joe Smith pitches to one batter, throws a double play grounder (if Jose feeds the second-baseman) and gets the loss. Where's the justice???
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