How The End Always Is

I suppose it makes sense that my personal best (or should that be personal worst) 5th consecutive loss was that of an utterly frustrating variety. Though the Mets were in the game the entire way, and even had a chance to win it in their last at bat had Murphy not swung at a sucker pitch for the game's final out, you just knew that this was how it was going to turn out.

You knew when you got to the stadium, got your Tacos (which were once again the highlight of the evening, "Orgasmically good" might be the best way to put it), sat in your seat and looked at the Mets lineup that, even with Santana pitching, the Mets were doomed. After Luis Castillo in the #2 spot, it was all downhill from there. Daniel Murphy, who appears to have been stuck with a .248 average since May, was 3rd. Cory Sullivan, birthday boy or not, was hitting 5th (this before I knew that Sheffield asked out of the lineup over a contract spat, oddly, this is the first known issue he's created this season). Brian Schneider and his .187 BA hitting 7th. The eminently unexciting Anderson Hernandez 8th. The lineup basically read like Johan Santana and his band of Merry Men. They loaded the bases in the 1st, Tatis grounded out, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night.

Santana was admirable, no doubt. Efficient as well. But for a little bit of bad luck (a better throw by Pagan on Infante's Sac Fly in the 3rd might have got Church at home) and one bad pitch (McCann's moon shot in the 4th), Santana was his normal self. But, oh, that lineup just couldn't do anything against Kenshin Kawakami, no matter how much he tried to let the Mets back into the game. Other that one instance in the 3rd where Tatis' line drive was hauled in on a brilliantly timed leap by Infante, you never really had the sense that the Mets were going to mount a serious threat.

The crowd, as it has been most of the season, was in positive spirits, in spite of the general hopelessness the team seems to exude. Looking for some sort of light, we got it in the 8th. Santana was removed from the game, and you could see a rather familiar looking lefty throwing in the bullpen. And once that bullpen door swung open and the first few notes of "Enter Sandman" began to play, the crowd was suddenly energized. After a constant string of injuries and players dropping on an alarming basis, here, finally, was someone actually coming back on schedule. Here was Wagner, making his familiar Alpaca-like stride in from the bullpen, coming in, and throwing surprising heat, 94-95-even touching 96MPH. He struck out his first batter, Curly McHanrahan, with relative ease. Larry swung on a 3-0 pitch and popped out. And with a flourish, Wagner finished by slipping his tradmark slider by McCann. The crowd was up. The crowd was energized. Could Wagner's appearance energize the Mets as well, and spur them on to a comeback victory?

No. Of course not. They got a little closer, thanks to erratic Mike Gonzalez, an error from Larry and a pinch single from Omir Santos. But with the tying runs on base and 2 outs in both the 8th and the 9th, the Mets went down predictably meekly. Just like you figured they would. Just like they have all season. There's nobody who can step up and rip that walkoff 2-run HR now. You just have to close your eyes, hope for the best and not be too surprised when you get the worst.

3 games remain on my 15 game plan. I've been to 11 of the first 12 and watched the Mets post a miserable 4-7 record in those 11 games (they of course won the game I missed). Add in the one random game against the Yankees and my record for the season is 4-8. Is it any wonder why I feel so defeated watching this team?

Always Be Closing...

This is #5 of 5 Key Mets Players for the 2008 Season.
In 2006, Billy Wagner had what was for him, a normal, outstanding season, replete with 40 Saves, a 2.24 ERA, 94 strikeouts in 72.1 innings, and his usual agita, particularly at some bad moments.

In 2007, Wagner began the season at an even better clip, allowing only 3 earned runs entering June, and not having blown a save all season. Even after he did blow one, annoyingly to the Phillies, Wagner continued on a seemingly dominant clip, making the All Star team and providing little concern.

Then came a game on August 10th against Florida. With the Mets leading and seemingly cruising along, Wagner came in to close out the bottom of the Marlins lineup. No problem. Except that he gave up a hit to Miguel Olivo, walked Jason Wood, and then, out of nowhere, Hanley Ramirez turned around Wagner's best fastball and smoked it off the center field fence, scoring both runs and giving the Marlins the lead and, eventually, the win.

Following that game, Wagner became downright frightening to watch pretty much every time out. Even when he didn't blow the save, he gave me John Franco flashbacks and when he did blow it, well, it was just ugly 10 different ways.

Then, in September, we just didn't know what to expect. Wagner was alternately good and horrible at the same time, ended up missing a key stretch with back spasms, and became more or less an afterthought when things fell apart completely. Billy certainly didn't have a bad season all told, but the majority of his 34 saves and 2.63 ERA were accomplished at early points in the season.
Basically, I don't know what we'll get out of Wagner this year. This is inasmuch as we know what we'll see out of him, which is that he'll do his little Alpaca-hop from the Bullpen as "Enter Sandman" blares, and he'll throw 95MPH fastballs and mix in a slider and whatever that other pitch he was working on but rarely used last season was here and there, but will he? He'll be 37 on July 25th, and he's made a career on throwing the ball hard and with a lot of torque on that small frame.

Yes, yes, I know. He's done it for years, and why should this year be any different? Well, I'm not saying that it will. But last year brought into question whether or not he's going to be able to hold up over the course of a full season, now that he's getting older and the mileage is beginning to take its toll. In '06, he remained consistent throughout the season, with a stinker sprinkled in here or there, so it really wasn't much cause for concern. Last year, the bad outings really clumped up late in the season.

There's one other thing. Every few years, Wagner seems to get hit with injury problems that knock him out for a good chunk of the season. In 2000, he appeared in 28 games and put up an ERA of 6.18. In 2004, with Philadelphia, he again was hurt and appeared in only 45 games. I have this haunting fear that Wagner's about due for another one of those seasons where he's ineffective and injured, and that's not good, especially given the problems with the Bullpen as it is, and with no clear replacement on the team (yes, I am knocking on wood as I write this). At least not a trustworthy replacement.

Granted, a lot of this is all hearsay. But given that Willie and Peterson really count on their Bullpen—and especially their Closer—to carry a lot of the load over the course of the season, it means that everybody that the Mets trot out after their starters are under scrutiny, and everyone deserves to be looked at as a key to the team. But I consider Wagner separate from the Bullpen because his role is clearly defined and isn't going to change if he performs poorly a few times. Come in for the 9th inning, throw strikes, get outs, finish off the opponent. And do it consistently over the 90+ games the Mets will hopefully win this coming season. His track record would dictate that he's not going to fall into a pattern where he gets routinely hammered. But he needs to stay healthy and he needs to finish the marathon if the Mets are going to win, and advance into October, just as much as the guys who will be the bridge between the starter and him need to get him the ball so he can do so.