And DOWN the Stretch They Come…

And DOWN the Stretch They Come…

 

By Jimmy Russotto

 

9/25/07

 

What a pleasure watching the Mets when they’re really on and playing hard as they are now.  Even though they lost tonight to the Nationals (again), they were never really in either game until tonight’s surprising ninth inning rally when Moises Alou drove in three more runs to bring the Mets to within one run of tying it.  In both games, some good starting pitching turned bad, first by Mike Pelfrey and then Tom Glavine.  When you’re down, though, by six or seven runs, that lets the air out of any team. 

 

But, if you watched the last game of the Marlins series, there was Carlos Beltran making that running catch, a gazelle with two bad knees.  We had David Wright coolly holding a runner on at 3rd before making a nice throw to Delgado, Moises Alou making a beautiful throw to the plate, LoDuca doing some magic on a pop foul, Joe Smith getting a big hold, Aaron Sele continuing the scoreless run and Scott Schoenweiss securing the save.  A thing of beauty all the way.

 

Just the fact that they were able to mount a stunning comeback tonight bodes well for the future, especially seeing that the Phillies lost to the Braves tonight and have to face Tim Hudson tomorrow. 

 

This bullpen is worn out though.  Once we get through the end of the season, they’ll have a chance to rest.  We just have to make it to the end.  The magic number is now just  4, although it’ll probably be another lost outing if Humber goes Wednesday, before we get to Pedro, who’s got to have at least one more regular season scoreless gem in him.  El Duque, who knows about him.   Maine can get us a nice win now and then though.  In any event, I’m hoping they can close it out tomorrow, winning behind Glavine or having the Phils lose their outing with Hudson and the Braves.

 

In all the excitement and newsworthy baseball stuff that should be part and parcel of a pennant race, though, the Mets detractors and low-blow artists have to focus on stupid things. The idiots on the FAN (and some other media types) are proving they have nothing intelligent to contribute by picking on Ricky Henderson for playing cards in the clubhouse.  Gimme a break!  As if they didn’t know what they were getting.  God forbid that the man should ever do anything seriously wrong, like be found drunk in the car, as was that idiot much-ballyhooed manager from St Louis, who wasn’t bright enough to get HIS GUY Albert Pujols into the All-Star game at its most critical juncture. 

 

Meanwhile, the Mets just couldn’t get it together offensively for eight full innings tonight.  Wright hit into two double plays in critical situations.  Beltran looked clueless again at the plate.  Reyes may be getting back on track with two big home runs tonight.  The greatness in this team lies in its resilience, though, and they’ve always been able to bring guys in off the bench for a spark.  Shawn Green, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez, Lastings Milledge, even a guy like Conine can deliver in a tight spot.

 

Mystery surrounds some of the moves they make, though, like stealing third with one out and Delgado at the plate.  It should have been the third out as Delgado struck out, maybe just from the distraction, and only the third baseman being out of position saved the Mets long enough to at least get Paul LoDuca to the plate.  Reyes almost got picked off first tonight.  (Willie’s look was priceless).  Why did they warm up Schoenweiss for two innings only to leave him in the pen ? 

 

And why, oh why give Humber his first major league start in a game they need to clinch the NL East?  Is he another Joba Chamberlain?  I don’t think so.  The sad thing is that they have no better alternative, given their current position in the race and the state of their pitching staff.  Meanwhile, Jeff Wilpon today expressed his disappointment today in both Omar Minaya AND Willie Randolph.  It may have come at just the right time.  Something needs to be done to get these guys on track.

 

In the rest of Major League Baseball, the Yankees lost a tough one to the Devil Rays, who seem to have their number this year, while the Tigers looked impressive in a drubbing of the Twins.  Magglio Ordonez was once again a big part of the Tigers offense, and is well on his way to cementing his hold on the American League batting race over Ichiro Suzuki of the equally disappointing Mariners.

 

In the National League Central, the Brewers and the Cubs are locked in a death-match, the Brewers winning again with a big assist from 23 year-old Prince Fielder, who banged out his 49th and 50th homers of the season.  But this race has nothing on the race for the National League wildcard.  San Diego, the odds-on favorite for at least the wildcard just one week ago, now have to catch the Arizona Diamondbacks and/or outlast the surprising run of the Colorado Rockies and the staying power of the Phils.

 

The Rockies have been devastating down the stretch, getting some All-Star performances from Matt Holliday, the ageless Todd Helton, guys like Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins.  The Phillies great shortstop, Jimmy Rollins, hit his 30th homer today.  They’ve got some bangers in the lineup, and, if their bullpen can hang in there, they still have a chance.

 

If you love baseball, you’ve got to love the wildcard.  It keeps the excitement at a fever pitch in places like Chicago, where some great pitching and Lou Piniella are keeping them in it.  In places like Milwaukee, a city whose team can’t spend a lot,  gets to experience the thrill of a chance to go to the World Series and share headlines with the Packers.  In Arizona, a team filled with no names and some fine pitching, in Denver, whose young team just hits the heck out of the ball.

 

So it’s not just the Yanks and Red Sox.  We don’t just have to hear about David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez, who returned today.  Or Arod.