Script Changes

It's not news to Mets fans, particularly anyone who has been following the team since Turner Field opened in 1997, but nothing good has ever happened to the Mets at Turner Field. I mean, sure, they've won some games here and there, and they've swept some series on rare occasions, but for the most part, nothing good ever happens to the Mets in Atlanta. Whether it's umpires blowing calls at home plate, or players abandoning fundamentals, or Larry being a general nuisance, something terrible usually happens to the Mets when they go to Atlanta, and the result is that they generally lose games. I don't think they won a game there at all between 2003 and 2005, and I believe they've only won about 2 games there since 2007.

Even without Larry around to wreak havoc, the Braves still feature all the pieces designed to annoy me. Dan Uggla—remember him?—is there now, and some Uptons are involved. This Andrelton Simmons fellow is drawing a lot of sizzle in spite of the fact that he poses as little more than a glorified Rey Ordoñez. Then, there's their closer, Craig Kimbrel, who everyone fawns and drools over like he's the second coming of Mariano Rivera except that people gloss over the fact that every time he's had to close out a big game, he's shit the bed. So...yeah. No love lost for the Braves.

Tonight's game seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of all those other games. The Mets broke out to an early lead thanks to the continued success of John Buck, but the Braves chipped away and chipped away, and ultimately tied the game in the 5th. It didn't help that Shaun Marcum couldn't keep himself together. But whatever. If the Braves didn't strike then, they would have struck later on. And they did, in the 7th, courtesy of a walk and an inopportune Wild Pitch, setting the stage for All Star Andrelton Simmons to tap into a Fielder's choice that probably would have been a Double Play had the ball been better hit, but them's the breaks. Mike Minor hadn't given up a hit since the 2nd inning. And there went the Mets in this game.

Except that for reasons I can't quite understand, the Braves removed Minor from the game. Marlon Byrd promptly hit a Home Run off Eric O'Flaherty in the 8th inning, re-tying the game.

So, the Mets won't lie down so easily, will they? That's OK. Braves Folk Hero du Jour Evan Gattis answered Byrd's Home Run with one of his own off Brandon Lyon. Braves lead once again. Braves fans doing their little tomahawk chop dance that brings me right on the verge of homicide every time I hear it. The unhittable Craig Kimbrel coming in for the 9th. We already know how the script ends. May as well pack up and go home.

Except that David Wright decided to man up and throw a wrench into that plan. Kimbrel had him late on a pair of fastballs, but, pro that he is, Wright shortened up his swing and deposited the next pitch in the Center Field bleachers, tying the game again, and hanging a BS on Kimbrel. I found this to be a particularly gratifying Home Run, particularly since Keith Hernandez—Keith Hernandez!—had spent the entire inning with his lips firmly glued to Kimbrel's ass.

Still, the Braves appeared primed to make Wright's Home Run a footnote in the bottom of the 9th. Ramiro Peña (who was a former Yankees prospect, so you know he's got to be good) doubled off Lyon, and then got sacrificed to 3rd. Here we go again. Another game in Atlanta destined to end with something stupid happening. But instead of sticking with Lyon to the death, Terry Collins instead went to Bobby Parnell. All Parnell did was get Jordan Schafer to fly out to center—probably deep enough to score Peña, but shallow enough to scare him out of trying—and Justin Upton to ground out, keeping the game tied and into another extra inning affair.

I still wasn't entirely convinced that the Mets were just prolonging the inevitable, because they still had to score more runs in order to win, and through 9 innings, they'd only managed 5 hits, 4 of which had fortuitously left the yard. Jordan Walden came in for Atlanta in the 10th, and while Keith spent a good 15 minutes expounding on his bizarre delivery, the Mets once again got to work. Jordany Valdespin worked a 2-out walk, which seemed innocuous enough, but in reality it set one of Terry Collins' more ingenious plans in motion. Bobby Parnell, the next batter, would surely have been hit for under most circumstances. But here he was, coming to the plate.

Only in retrospect was it evident that Parnell was simply there to square for a bunt and distract Gattis enough to allow Valdespin to steal 2nd. At worst, Valdespin is caught and Parnell goes out for another inning. Instead, Valdespin was safe, Mike Baxter subsequently pinch hit and walked, and Tejada and Murphy followed with run-scoring hits. Just the way Collins drew it up.

3 tidy, uneventful outs from Jeurys Familia later and, amazingly, the Mets had a 7-5 win that you sort of had to pinch yourself over. The Mets battled back in a game where Atlanta's groundswell probably should have overcome them. They tied a game in Atlanta where normally they would normally have meekly faded off into the night. They took an extra inning lead and held it. This isn't the script that these Mets/Braves games usually follow. I hope to see it happen more often.

Prick Up Your Ears

Wednesday's afternoon game meant another of my "working man's specials," where I'm in my office with a portable radio, catching whatever bits of the game I can when I'm not buried in whatever that day's task may be. The result, as always, is that I tend not to get the best perspective on what's actually going on in the game, but after Monday and Tuesday, I can't say I had particularly high hopes for the outcome. The owner of a nearby establishment, a fellow Mets fan, popped into my office once or twice, stuck his head in my office and would say things like "It's suicide watch time..." and "Can you even bear to listen to the game today?"

There have been days where I haven't had a day game on in the office, but it's rare. Usually, I was simply too busy and I forgot there was a day game. But I seem to have enough cognizant Baseball fans around me to not let that happen anymore. I put the radio on and immediately had to go into my Boss's office for a spell, and when I came back, the Marlins already had a 3-0 lead. The way things were going, I figured the game was already over because the Mets can't score 3 runs. So the game dissolved into background noise and I continued working. Only when David Wright hit a Home Run did I pay attention, and that was only because Josh Lewin punctuates his calls with a particular kind of screaming that you sort of can't miss. A few minutes later, he was screaming again, because the Marlins came right back and tacked on another run. 4-1, I figured, would still sink the Mets and finish off a sweep of particular embarrassment.

Which is why I found it rather jarring when, some time later, Jordany Valdespin hit a 3-run Home Run that, according to Lewin, gave the Mets a 5-4 lead.

A 5-4 lead?! The Mets scored 5 runs?

A novel idea, scoring runs indeed. And not only scoring runs, but tacking them on, thanks to John Buck an inning later.

Try as they might, the bullpen couldn't blow this one. The Marlins got as close as 7-6. Bobby Parnell came in for a rare save opportunity and, of course, just as the bottom of the 9th was starting, I was called out of my office again. I came back just in time to hear Lewin screaming some more, "AND HE STRUCK HIM OUT! AND THE BALL GAME IS OVER!"

"That was quick." I thought. "And they actually won."

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. As hard it may appear to be for the Mets to win a game, it's also equally as difficult for them to lose every game. This will, apparently, happen from time to time.

Got Your Back!

Matt Harvey for once proved he was mortal earlier tonight, although even his worst outing of the season only left the Mets down 3-1 after his 6 innings. Harvey wasn't his usual unhittable self, but then again, the law of averages was bound to catch up with him at some point. And even then, this supposedly bad outing still yielded only 4 hits, 3 runs and 7 strikeouts. But, considering those 3 runs ballooned his ERA to 1.54, that's just a testament to how well he's pitched this far. The Dodgers also didn't exactly knock him around; they scored a run in the 1st on a fielder's choice, and Matt Kemp's 6th inning Home Run was an opposite field flick job that was simply a great hitter hitting a great pitch in the right spot. Aside from that, Harvey was basically doing what he usually does: mow down the opposition with a quickness.

The only real downside to all this was that the Mets offense didn't back him up the way they usually do. Wimpy Ted Lilly pretty much stifled the Mets through the early part of the game, only bending slightly when Harvey himself made a strong bid for his first career Home Run, instead just clanging the ball off the wall for a double. Ruben Tejada followed with a double of his own, scoring Harvey and, at that point, tying the game 1-1.

But down 3-1 and looking rather anemic offensively, things appeared somewhat grim for the Mets. That's not to say they didn't have opportunities against the Dodgers bullpen. Jay J.P. Howell did his best to hand the Mets some runs by walking the first two batters he faced, but Antonio Alfonseca Ronald Bellisario came in to bail him out, allowing only a Sacrifice Fly to Justin Turner before stopping the Mets cold for the remainder of his 1.2 innings. So Harvey still found himself on the short end of the stick, looking at having his 4-0 record blemished by the slimmest of margins unless the offense could scrape across another run.

It took them until the 9th inning, but they finally managed to scrape that run across. Mike Baxter got it started with a flare hit to left that Carl Crawford neither caught nor managed to pick up in a timely fashion, allowing Baxter to hustle out a leadoff double that more or less changed the scope of the game. Tejada sacrificed Bax to 3rd, leaving Daniel Murphy in prime position to tie the game. And perhaps he would have, but for a brilliant catch by Jerry Hairston, Jr, who basically showed little regard for his body in smashing into a dugout railing. Buzzkill. That was going to seal the Mets fate. Except that David Wright nailed the game-tying hit on the next pitch. Game tied, Harvey off the hook, joy in Metville.

This, of course, all would have been moot had the Mets had one of those games where they immediately melt down in the 10th inning, but behind Bobby Parnell, who's pitched rather well even if he hasn't exactly had save opportunities, the Dodgers were turned aside (this after fine jobs from Scott Rice, Scott Atchison and the rejuvenated LaTroy Hawkins), so the Mets had a chance to do some damage of their own in the 10th against this Josh Wall fellow who I guess is the Dodgers answer to Kevin McGlinchy since he came in and immediately started giving up hits and walks and sacrifice bunts, and then Don Mattingly was holding court on the mound, but it was really delaying the inevitable. The only thing left to chance with Jordany Valdespin up was whether he was going to keep control of himself with the bases loaded, or was he going to try to hit the 6-run Homer and ground out to first. The answer, fortunately, was the former; Valdespin put a nice, level, controlled swing on a 2-1 fastball and, oddly enough, ended up being the Home Run Hero because his fly ball that would have won the game regardless ended up sailing over the wall in Right, ensuring that Jordany could back-flip his way around the bases with his first career Grand Slam, sealing a hair-raising 7-3 victory.

So, yes, Matt Harvey has in fact proved himself to be human, just like every other pitcher in the Major Leagues, and sometimes he has to rely on his teammates to pull a game out of the fire for him. Tonight, his teammates, particularly Baxter, Wright and Valdespin, all had his back.

Bill of Goods

I don't want to piss on the Colin McHugh parade, but when you go up against the Triple A lineup that the Colorados put out this afternoon, it's not so difficult to have a historical Major League Debut. I wouldn't go crazy comparing McHugh to anybody spectacular. Let's see what he does after a couple of times around the league. There's a reason nobody had heard of McHugh until about 2 days ago, and it's because he's not Nolan Ryan. He's not Tom Seaver. I don't even think he's Matt Harvey right now. He had an excellent start today. I get it, I understand it. But I'm tired of being sold this bill of goods. There's probably only one team that McHugh might have pitched better against, and that's the team he was playing for. The team that managed 6 runs in 4 games against the worst pitching staff in the league, a staff so bad that they pull their starters after 3 innings and just let relievers try to figure it out. A team that came into Citi Field on Monday with a record of 46-73 and left 4 victories richer.

The Mets were flawed to begin with, and their solid first half was something that surprised and tantalized everyone, but it's ancient history now. It's safe to say that every ounce of good vibes the Mets had generated earlier this season has been erased. Right now, the Mets look about as miserable as they did in 2009, and maybe that's being kind, because they're generating the kind of results that look like something out of 1993 with a roster that's a little bit 1982, a little bit 2003, a lot miserable.

I'm being awfully cynical, but how can you not be when we keep getting told about the prospects and the pieces of the future that are here now? I said it yesterday and I'll say it again; who on this team would you want to have back next season? At this point, you could count them on one hand. Wright, Ike, Tejada, Dickey, Harvey, Niese...And who else exactly? The rest can be fed to the wolves. I can't even dump on the Jason Bays anymore because it's too easy. How about Josh Thole? Has he had 2 hits in the last month? I was skeptical about him last season because his defense had gotten sloppy and he spent the entire season hitting about .240 with no power. This season? Same thing. Not an everyday Catcher. Stop telling me he is. Jordany Valdespin? Infectious, Jose Reyes-like energy? Got a few long hits at opportune moments? Can't field any position adequately? Misplays routine fly balls? Runs into outs with frightening abandon? Swings for the fences every time up? Lacks a general sense of logic and basic Baseball discipline? Not an every day player. Barely passable as a reserve. Bobby Parnell? Electric Fastball? Consistency of Oliver Perez? Not a future closer.

More than half the team looks like it's going through the motions. Players like Torres, Murphy, Baxter and Hairston aren't every day players. Murphy's close, but he can't go through these 2-for-20 streaks that he's always going through. The stink that this team is generating isn't the same kind of stink we've endured in 2009, because that was because of injuries, or 2007, because that was complacency. This is the stink of suckitude, and it's gotten so bad that it's dragging down the good players on the team. David Wright was hitting everything in sight in the first half. Now, teams are just pitching around him, and when they're not, he's gotten back into that old habit of killing himself trying to carry the team on his back. He's just not the kind of player who can do that. But since nobody else around him seems to be able to hit, or in many cases pitch, here he is again, pressing. Can you blame him for grousing about being tired of losing? Aren't we all tired of losing?

Terry Collins is just as culpable for this mess as anyone. If we're all going to heap praise on him for the job he did keeping this team together, keep them fighting and scrapping for every win they got in the first half, then he deserves blame for letting it all crumble in the face of adversity. He mismanaged the bullpen because he couldn't trust anyone, and then he started getting stuck in situations where he had to go to the bullpen and it was damned if you do, damned if you don't. The personnel he's given isn't his fault, but when I routinely have to question removing the starting pitcher, and immediately being proven right because the bullpen immediately fucks it all up, something's wrong. Terry Collins said he wouldn't tolerate exactly the kind of play he's now tolerating out of his team. So...which is it? Or has he just lost the clubhouse? If that's the case, then, hey, we may as well have just kept Jerry Manuel around chortling in the locker room.

I've been told, and believe myself, that the only way to change a lousy team is if they are completely humiliated. That's beginning to happen to the Mets right now, in the midst of this 10-32 12-30, 2 wins at home since the All Star Break stretch. Everyone watching certainly knows this, and I certainly hope people in the organization get it as well. Sandy Alderson even said as much, but does he have the leeway he's supposed to have from the wonderful owners? The hot word is that the team payroll isn't expected to increase much, and most of it is still going to be tied up in 5 or 6 players. So, what sort of freedom do the Mets have to bring in someone who can make a difference? How can they bring in real, actual Major League talent to bolster this roster? There's not much tradeable in the Minors, I don't believe (still), so will the Wilpons actually let Alderson spend some money this offseason? How long do we have to keep asking this question? It's getting  a little tired. If the great owners don't have the money to field a competitive team, then do us all a favor and get lost. Go away. Sell the team to someone who, hopefully, cares about building a winner. Because there's only so many times you can sell the same rotten stew to a long-since disenchanted fan base.

Phew. This rant might not be quite as impactful as the one Mike Francesa unleashed on the Mets earlier today, but it comes from the same place. He's tired of watching this, and he's not even a Mets fan. How do you think the Mets fans feel?

Strange Brew?

Tomorrow marks the Mets 81st game (and my 10th of the season at Citi Field). I've made a few observations, some of which I've shared here, others which have just been brewing in my head. Here's what I've noticed.

WHAT'S GONE RIGHT:
Quite a bit, even if there haven't been an overwhelming number of individually stellar seasons, there's a lot here to work with. Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson (and as much as I hate to say it, Omar Minaya) have put together an incredibly cohesive group that plays together, plays for each other, and plays to win, and that's been evident in their 43-37 record. No, it hasn't been pretty and sometimes it's been downright disgusting. But I don't know a single Mets fan who wouldn't have signed for 6 games over .500 and 3 games out of 1st place at the halfway point.

The great performances that we've gotten, particularly out of David Wright and R.A. Dickey don't need much discussion. Each is justifiably rewarded with a trip to the All Star game next week (even though Wright was rooked out of a starting spot either because the Giants fans stuffed the ballot boxes or because the Mets fans didn't), The real MVP this season, however, is probably Johan Santana. Throwing the first No Hitter in Mets History aside, all he's done is come back from major shoulder surgery and look just as good as he did before he got injured, and sometimes even better. It doesn't matter if he can't throw 95 anymore. He knows how to pitch and he can throw whatever pitch he wants, wherever and whenever. More importantly, he hasn't missed a start and he's allowed Dickey and Niese to slide comfortably into their roles as #2 and #3 in the rotation.

The rest of the rotation hasn't been terrible either. Jonathon Niese got over some early inconsistency and has found himself in a real nice groove. Chris Young, when he's healthy, is an excellent pitcher. All he's got to do is stay healthy, however. Dillon Gee has acquitted himself reasonably well as the #5 starter, not consistent, not eye-popping, but he's done what he's needed to do more often than not.

The real question is how long the rotation will hold together. The players themselves aren't the issue here but whether or not they can hold up over the remainder of the season is. Until Young resurfaced, depth had been a bit of an issue, probably because of Alderson's hesitance to rush Matt Harvey up from AAA. It's fine to keep him there, but if there are any more injuries in the rotation, it's probably in the best interest of the team to promote Harvey to the Majors. They can't afford to hand over key starts to more Chris Schwinden types, and while Miguel Batista and Jeremy Hefner are also starter candidates, they can't be trusted over a large string of time.

Other things that have gone right: Ike Davis in June, where he seems to finally have put it together. Lucas Duda's emergence as, if nothing else, a real power threat, complete with the streakiness. Scott Hairston against Lefthanders. Kirk Nieuwenhuis came up early and earned his keep. Frank Francisco didn't throw any chairs. Ruben Tejada has shown incredible polish at the plate and his approach both offensively and defensively will make everyone forget about Jose Reyes before too long. I don't know if the power will develop with time, but his style of play seems awfully reminiscent of Edgardo Alfonzo, and if that's the kind of upside he's got, I'd say he's a keeper.

WHAT'S BEEN SO-SO:
The Jordany Valdespin experiment. He plays with such an infectious degree of energy that it makes him eminently likeable, but he has absolutely no polish and no discipline at the plate, and very little in the field. You could tell this from his first Major League at bat, which came with the bases loaded, and resulted in him swinging out of his shoes at the first pitch and popping up. Better moments would follow, but he's got a lot to learn, and at 24, I wonder if he will.

Scott Hairston playing everyday: I know this is a result of Jason Bay's injury, but the fact is that Scott Hairston isn't good enough to play every day. I know his power surge has been a nice story and he's come up with a lot of clutch hits. But he's the kind of player who kills lefties and is only passable against righties. Play him all the time and he'll get exposed.

Bobby Parnell, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco: When they're on, they're on. When they're not, watch out. Francisco has often made you want to hide your eyes, and Jon Rauch has incinerated a few leads. Parnell is always a mystery because he doesn't seem to pitch to the level of his stuff. While I'm all for giving Parnell the closer role going forward, I can't say it inspires a ton of confidence. With the back end of the bullpen mostly rotting away and guys like Pedro Beato and Jenrry Mejia sitting in the Minors, I don't think the closer of the future exists on the Mets roster right now.

WHAT'S BEEN BAD:
Jason Bay. Not entirely his fault, but he needs to get out of New York. The sooner the better.

Mike Pelfrey's injury. Not that Pelfrey was going to light anyone ablaze, but he was at least a dependable commodity who could eat innings. His injury resulted in several weeks of the Chris Schwinden Pu-Pu Platter until Chris Young arrived.

Offensive production from Catcher: Though Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas have proven perfectly capable defensively (particularly having to deal with a knuckleball every 5 days), they have been mostly non existent offensively. Thole can handle the bat reasonably well, but he has no power and drives in no runs. Nickeas is even worse and yet mysteriously has driven home 12 runs this season to Thole's 10.

The Back end of the Bullpen: Batista isn't an 8th inning man. He's a mop up man. Ramon Ramirez is woefully inconsistent. I've already mentioned Rauch and Parnell and though they're not the total dregs, they're only a slight step up. Other guys like Robert Carson, Elvin Ramirez and that Egbert fellow, and whoever this Justin Hampson is either aren't ready, aren't capable, or possibly both, otherwise they might have gotten a little more use. Better depth is out there, even though finding a dependable relief pitcher is sort of like throwing horse manure at a wall and hoping it sticks.

IN SUMMATION:
The Mets have managed to overachieve this year without anybody really overachieving (I wouldn't call Dickey overachieving since his numbers were pretty damn good to begin with the last couple of seasons, I think he's learned more consistency which is why he's getting these results). One thing that's helped is that the rest of the NL East, and, in fact, the NL in general, hasn't had any real breakaway great team. The Phillies have come back to earth with a thud and now that they're talking about dealing away Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino who knows what will happen to them. The Marlins, like any "superteam" are having trouble gelling. Washington has won with outstanding pitching. Atlanta is a complete mystery. I don't know how this will play out ultimately, but the Mets are, in reality, a good reliever and probably a right-handed Left Fielder with power away from throwing a major wrench into everyone's plans.

What Troubles?

Funny game, that Baseball. That's a recycled comment.

After getting swept by the Yankees and looking rather miserable in the process, it certainly looked as though this was when the Mets would turn back into pumpkins and fall off the proverbial cliff into nowheresville and out of relevance for the Summer. Going off to Tampa, to play the Rays and their plethora of great pitching and excessively potent offense, things certainly appeared grim.

So, of course, the Mets go out and set a season high for runs in support of Chris Young, who escaped imminent disaster in the 1st and settled down afterwards in a solid 5.2 innings. Young handed things off to the much-maligned bullpen (only now are people starting to scream things like "THIS IS THE WORST BULLPEN IN THE LEAGUE!!! THEY ARE WHAT WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!!") who kept the Rays quiet the rest of the way, while the Mets put the game away behind a 4-RBI performance from Jordany Valdespin (maligned for screwing up last week) and Ike Davis (maligned for screwing up all season) chipped in with his first Home Run in over a month. All in all, a once again unexpected lively effort from the Mets, who continue to rebound when a rebound victory is needed most.

Admittedly, I didn't get to see much of tonight's game for one reason or another, and by time I did get home and get to put the game on, things were pretty much settled at 9-2 Mets. By that point, I already knew that things had been going rather well. What I didn't know was who had been supplying the production for the Mets, and under what circumstances. First, Jordany Valdespin, who's appeared somewhat overmatched by the Majors at times, had his best performance since his HR in Philly last month. After last week's debacle of a performance at Shortstop, I feel like people were beginning to get a little fed up with him. Problem is, until the 12 injured middle infielders start to come back, we're going to have to go to the whip with him and hope for the best. I like Valdespin's energy and the talent is certainly there, but he's got an often horrible approach at the plate, to go with a general lack of polish. I suppose it will come with seasoning, but then again, he's already 24. But I digress. He could have just been getting his sea legs. He's looked markedly better with the bat over the past week, and his hits on Sunday and tonight led to some runs, so, all the better. Then, there was Ike Davis, who's been hitting .160 pretty much all season, and hasn't been able to build on anything positive. He's had to dodge rumors and fans clamoring for a platoon or a demotion, and perhaps the fact that there's really no good replacement for him has been keeping him afloat. But, tonight, in addition to his HR,  he cleverly dropped down a bunt for a hit against the overshift. Who knows what it will lead to, but sometimes, that's all it takes.

Then, there were all these 2-out runs. For years, it seems, the Mets had this annoying problem of never being able to drive in runs with 2 outs. I'm rather certain that the last time the Mets had a 2-out RBI was sometime in 2006, and that's probably not far from the truth. But for some reason, this year, the Mets seem to have the 2-out touch. Of the Mets season-high 11 runs tonight, 9 were scored with 2 out. 9! What's more, the talk after the game has been about how the Mets lead the league in 2-out RBIs.

So, yes. The Mets aren't dead quite yet. Of course, having to face David Price tomorrow night isn't exactly a favorable matchup, but then again, R.A. Dickey hasn't been a favorable matchup for anyone lately. Should be worth being home for.

Yeesh...

I know that over the course of a season, every team has "games like that," where nothing seems to go right. But last night for the Mets in Washington was such a ridiculous performance that by the time things ended, the game had dissolved into one of those idiotic farce games that I'm so fond of, replete with the Mets blowing a pair of extra inning leads and ultimately frittering the game away.

This, despite some pitching efforts that bordered on the Heroic.

I sometimes wonder, in the aftermath of games like this, if it wouldn't just be easier if the Mets just faded out and lost the game in normal fashion. It would have been perfectly acceptable to say that Jordan Zimmerman shut the Mets down 3-0, they couldn't figure him out, etc etc. Chris Young came back from his shoulder injury, acquitted himself just fine over his 5 innings, didn't get much help from his defense, and lost.

But, these Mets don't know how to quit. So, they came back on Zimmermann and ultimately took the lead in the 8th inning. It was shades I the last series in Philly. The Mets seemed primed to pull off yet another in a season of improbable comeback victories. But, then, the Mets defense took over and ultimately submarines this effort. The pitchers gave up the hits, yes, but they also made the necessary pitches to get the Nationals out, only to see certain defenders kick, boot and ultimately fumble away a game that they could conceivably have won on three separate occasions.

Not that the bullpen has been especially stellar, and in the end it was Elvin Ramirez contributing to his own undoing when he walked the opposing pitcher in the 12th (in spite of Detwiler basically handing him a strikeout, bunting away a pair of balls way out of the strike zone), but if there was any justice, Bobby Parnell would have gotten a Save and a Purple Heart for the crap he had to endure just to get through the 10th. This is, of course, when the game began to get completely stupid. It was bad enough that Jordany Valdespin, miscast at Shortstop through the machinations of the game, booting an easy grounder to kick off the show. If that wasn't bad enough, Ike Davis followed that up by gagging on an easy DP ball. And a few batters later, Valdespin earned his first Blown Save by yakking on a second grounder that should have been a DP, instead allowing the tying run to score and putting the winning run on 3rd with 1 out. Somehow, Parnell managed to escape from this, probably because he wised up and struck out the next two hitters rather than letting them hit the ball and hoping for the best. If you were keeping score, Parnell essentially got 8 outs in the 10th, but only got credit for 3. Oy vey.

The rest of the game, you already know what happened. And yet somehow Ramirez was a Pitch away from escaping the 12th. Can you imagine what would have happened if this game had continued? I'd guess there would have been another blown lead, probably a ball bouncing off of Vinny Rottino's head, and maybe Kirk Nieuwenhuis coming in to pitch before Danny Espinosa's inevitable walkoff grand slam...oh, wait, that happened 3 years ago. Never mind.

Probably better it ended where it did. Hopefully the Mets got this out of their system.

Sit and Valdespin

It really doesn't seem to matter who or how anymore, but some way, the Mets seem to find a way to win these games.

Last night, the Mets newest hero surfaced, in the name of the sparkplug that is Jordany Valdespin. Many in the casual Mets audience might not have heard of Valdespin, short of his 0-for-6 stint in his first cup of coffee, but those in the know have known he's been around. I first saw Valdespin last year in Spring Training, where he hit the ball all over the place and played with the kind of abandon generally reserved for Jose Reyes. There was talk of some character issues. But attention was paid, and by time this Spring rolled around, Valdespin was probably worth a serious look, which he received, although nonetheless he was sent to AAA. But you could see the energy and the attitude he played with, and you knew it wouldn't be long before he'd be back in the Majors.

Even when he was going 0 for his first 6 in the Majors, you saw a little bit of that energy out of Valdespin. He often looks like he's ready to just jump out of his shoes and fly around the field. The arrogance is there as well. Before his pinch-hitting appearance, he was standing in the on deck circle, casually flipping the bat back and forth in his hands. Perhaps he's the perfect type to be interjected into the Mets/Phillies rivalry, which seems to include all sorts of posturing and attitude.

He certainly showed his flair for the dramatic last night. In the perfect storm of a situation, Valdespin's first Major League hit was also his first Major League Home Run, and also a game-winner in a game where the odds seemed completely stacked against the Mets.

With the Mets going up against Roy Halladay, this was basically a one-ear game. I had it on TV from the outset, but once the Phillies took the lead on Niese, you figured that was probably that. Halladay would cruise, and at some point I'd just flip over to the Rangers game. But then Wright doubled and the game was tied, and then Shane Victorino was getting called out for interference (a sure sign—a few years ago, this kind of call always went against the Mets, particularly when it involved Victorino), and then I was cooking dinner, and then Ty Wigginton was flattening Josh Thole at home—but still being tagged out, and then it was still tied, and it was the 9th inning.

But, again, this game's funny. Instead of holding to form, and the Phillies winning on 2 walks and 73 feet worth of singles, Valdespin came up and gave everyone in Philly a nice big Shitsteak, short circuiting any potential Philly rally before it could even start and giving the Mets one more surprise victory in what seems to have been a season of surprise victories.