The worst thing about being at Friday night's horrendous Met loss to the Yankees was Squawker Lisa's reaction. She couldn't stop laughing.
I say New York is a two-team town. Lisa says the Mets are the little brother. I want my team to show Lisa that she is wrong. That the Mets are just as good, if not better than, the Yankees. Just as deserving of respect.
But after tonight's debacle, even I cannot respect the Mets. It's bad enough if something like this happens once. But anyone who said they have never seen anything like tonight's ending has a very short memory.
K-Rod induces an infield popup that will be the final out, only to have it dropped and result in two runs? It happened only a little over a month ago!
On May 5, K-Rod was one out away from victory with runners on first and second. Same situation as tonight. K-Rod got the batter to pop up in the infield. And just like tonight, the infielder dropped the ball, and two runs eventually scored.
The main difference was that the Mets had a three-run lead over Atlanta when Carlos Delgado dropped the ball. And the second run did not score until after the next batter singled him home. But the Mets could have lost that game in similar devastating fashion, considering that noted Met killer Chipper Jones ended up batting with the tying run on third.
Fortunately, K-Rod got Chipper Jones to fly out to end the game. But Delgado's miscue was just as bad as Luis Castillo's tonight.
After tonight's game came to its dismal conclusion, I wanted the Mets to get rid of Castillo. But by the time I got home, I realized that Castillo is a symptom, not the cause. If you want to get rid of Castillo, you also need to get rid of Delgado for making the same error. Then there's Ryan Church for missing third and Daniel Murphy for helping to cost Johan Santana a victory.
If you start to throw in serious baserunning errors, most of the team should be sent packing.
So for those who are dumping on Castillo, he has a lot of company on this team. And that's something that the manager has to answer for.
Why does Jerry Manuel's team keep making embarrassing mistakes? Why must there be a news conference every couple of weeks in which players and manager must talk about picking up the latest player to humiliate himself?
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The name most mentioned in Met trade rumors has been Washington first baseman Nick Johnson. In tonight's Nationals game, Johnson dropped a foul popup in the eighth inning of a tie game. Given another chance, the batter, Gabe Kapler, hit a home run that decided the game.
These things do happen in baseball. I just wish they wouldn't keep happening with the Mets.
What are you going to do? these things happen. just got to get back at it today. Although some people say we lost this game, I prefer to ignore the error and count it as a win. We came back, scored to take the lead against Mariano, and Krod got Arod to pop-up to end the game. Considering not many were giving us a shot at winning last nights game, it's not all bad. outside of the error, we won that game. just not really.
ReplyDeleteBTW, what are they playing, whiffle ball at the new Y stadium? place is as bad as citizens bank park!
km
I knew the Yanks won and figured it was more nauseating heroics by ARod. I didn't see the clip until just now. Wow. Sorry Jon.
ReplyDeleteHey - at least nobody threw the ball into the stands on only 2 outs like Milton Bradley though.
I can only imagine how much more horrific that loss was seeing it unfold live right before your very eyes.
ReplyDeleteHow do we recover from that?
It blew my mind. Howie Rose called it the worst regular season loss in franchise history. I would have to agree.
Thanks for doing that Q&A for us. You guys are awesome!
Hey Met fans. You have someone who the Yankees or anyone else have ever heard of. He will pitch a 7 Hit 14 Strikeout Complete Game with a-Rod
ReplyDeleteA Rod will Strike out 4 times with the bases loaded.
It is appropriate that the Mets have a minor-league affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, named for a rollercoaster. The Mets put their fans on a rollercoaster all the time. Sometimes these fans end up saying, "Wheeee! What a ride!" Sometimes they end up throwing up all that Blue Smoke and Shake Shack stuff they ingested.
ReplyDeleteWe have now had Interleague play long enough to know what a typical Yankees-Mets game is like. Last night's game was typical.
1-0 Yankees. 2-1 Mets. 3-2 Yankees -- and I knew then that this game was not going to end benignly. Something was going to happen to make those who watched it, in the seats at YSII or on TV, talk about it for the next 50 years. 4-3 Mets. 6-3 Mets.
Matsui homers. 7-6 Yankees. Still, I knew it wasn't over. Yogi Berra was managing the Mets in the whacked-out NL East race of 1973, when he said, "It ain't over 'til it's over." And I knew this game was far from over.
Sure enough, Phil Coke wasn't it -- again. And Joe Girardi used Joe Torre's panic move, bringing Mariano Rivera in for the 8th inning. Like most panic moves, it didn't work, and it was 8-7 Mets.
Now it was over. I was sure. Well, I've only been watching these two teams play for 33 seasons, so what the hell do I know?
Bottom of the 9th, two out, the Yankees down to their last chance, but with the tying and winning runs on, and who's up? Alex Rodriguez. Oh, well, game over. A-Rod will strike out or pop up. He can't be trusted in a situation like this. And, sure enough, Francisco Rodriguez, who hasn't blown a save since he became a Met, got him to pop up! I knew it! Game over!
Met second baseman Luis Castillo settled under it, can o' corn, easy play. I could have caught this. Game over.
Except... HOLY COW! He dropped the ball! Castillo dropped the ball! Tying run scores! Winning run scores! Yankees 9, Mets 8!
This was less a "classic Yankee win" than a "classic Met loss." Once I got over the shock and stopped laughing, I felt awful for Met fans. This was in the bag. K-Rod pitching against the Yankees (which he sure knew how to do for the Angels)? Needing only to get A-Rod for the last out? This was as close to a sure thing as exists in baseball. And K-Rod didn't blow it. He got A-Rod do to what A-Rod does so well, screw up in a clutch situation.
Met fans were ready to party like it's 1969. Then Luis Castillo turned it into 1962. And Yankee Fans partied like it's 1999. Or, more accurately, October 2000.
I know, I know, it's only June 12. Not September. A regular-season game, just one of 162.
Still... And the Mets couldn't take advantage of the Phillies losing to the Red Sox, either. (Though they did spare the Yankees dropping another game behind the Sox.)
Greg Prince, author of the blog Faith and Fear In Flushing (and the terrific book of the same title), says he has a friend who calls rooting for the Mets "Metsochism." How true, how true.
This would have been bad enough for Met fans against any team. But against the Yankees? Not the Braves, not even the Phillies, but the team they truly hate the most, the Yankees?
Jon didn't use the exact words I used after after various losses to Boston, but the spirit of the words is there: "This is unacceptable... My team has no heart... Clean house! If you can't win, then at least don't lose with the same guys!"
Two more games in this series. And you just know at least one of them is going to be another epic.
You know, with all that money he makes, the least A-Rod can do is buy Luis Castillo dinner. Or introduce him to Kate Hudson, or whatever chick he's dating this week.
Which reminds me, there was an awkward moment at the game. Sarah Palin came back, and she gave David Wright a gift certificate for a free week's stay at an Alaska hotel. And he dropped it.
What made that play more awful was Castillo's throw to 2nd instead of throwing home. But, not sure from video replay, did Daniel Murphy pointed to 2nd base?
ReplyDeleteWow KM, are you on pain killers? You are more optimistic than after a Mets win.
ReplyDeleteI sat in the dark with the TV off for 15 minutes after the game. I tried to wake myself up hoping that it was just a dream. Well it wasn't, but after that fifteen minutes I arose and said tomorrow is another day.
So KM your right, gotta get back on the horse. What matters is how the Mets play after this. Will they bounce back? If they don't, then they are the type of guys who wouldn't have made any noise in October anyways.
But if they do...it could be special.
Do I think they will bounce back?
I have no clue
Am I being delusional?
Probably
Why am I asking myself questions?
I don't know, the Mets have made me insane.
The only thing the Mets deliver to their fans time and time again is pain and misery. Thank God I live in Caifornia, I get enough grief out here from people seeing my orange and blue hat about the frequent little league play from this alleged Major League club. I can't even imagine being in NYC!! Alright, now that I got my venting out of the way, I will sport my hat as always and hope for a better outcome, but admittedly this Met fan has more of a feeling that even if they get on a roll, they'll blow it. Its just what they do. Baseball for many is an escape, but I am getting to the point where I need an escape from baseball!
ReplyDeleteIn the words of Charlie Brown....AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!
Michael in California
As bad as the Met fans feel, this was just another regular season game - not Benitez melting down in game 1 of the 2000 WS, Kevin Rogers walking Andruw Jones in 1999or the Beltran strikeout against the Cardinals in the NLCS. Sitting in the dark for 15 minutes? - this compares nothing the the hours I spent in the dark after Mariano gave up the winning run in game 7, 2001 World Series.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with this last Anonymous..Losing a Playoff game in heartbreaking matter is worst. He brought up the mets playoffs ad me as a yankee fan I can think of 97 vs the Indians, 2001 vs the D-Backs, 04 vs the Sox and for me in the NBa last Thursday night Magic vs the lakers or back in 1995 Nick Anderson missing 4 free throws vs the rockets.
ReplyDeleteThe only thingI can say is as a Yankee fan we have won so many times there is consolation. I cannot imagine what is like to be a Cub Fan or a fan of Cleveland Sports, That has to be so agonizing,