It’s as simple as this; win tonight or start counting down till pitchers and catchers report.  With last night’s loss, the Mets must sweep a two game series at Shea Stadium starting tonight.  The odds of the Mets pulling it off, not good.  Consider this, the Mets will send John Maine to the mound tonight to face Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter.  Maine in two post season appearances has yet to make it into the fifth inning.  The Mets handled Carpenter well in game 2 but that was a game that Maine kept giving runs back to the Cardinals setting it up for the bullpen to blow it. Certainly one must look at game 2 now as the turning point of the series.  Never the less, the Mets must figure out a way to beat Carpenter just to get the series even once again.

The hero for the Cardinals last night was ex-Yankee Jeff Weaver.  He has pitched extremely well against the Mets twice now.  He lost game one but he only gave up two runs thanks to Carlos Beltran’s blast.  On that night Tom Glavine was able to shut out the Cardinals for six innings before the bullpen came in and nailed it.  Last night, Glavine didn’t pitch badly but after the Mets scored two runs in the fourth, Glavine gave the runs right back in the Cardinals half.  Pujols hit a home run then the Cardinals strung together some bleeders to the right side and the next thing you know St. Louis tied the game.  The Cardinals took the lead for good in the fifth scoring a single run but credit the bullpen for keeping the game close.  Chad Bradford and Pedro Feliciano stopped the scoring as the Cardinals left the bases loaded.  The Mets had to feel confident that they could come back later in the game.  However, that never happened.  After Feliciano gave up a solo home run to Dave Duncan, the closest the Mets came was in the eighth when Delgado walked then Wright doubled.  With the tying runs on second and third, Shawn Green hit a weak fly ball to center that was caught by Jim Edmonds ending the Mets threat.

So the Mets team that scored 12 runs on Sunday night was no where to be found at Busch III last night.  As the players often say, sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other team.  In fact, the Cardinals pitchers have not allowed a run to score with runners in scoring position and two out 31 times during the post season.  That is an amazing statistic and one that could propel the Cardinals into the World Series.  Pitching is the key in these series, and that fact alone has to scare Mets fans.

But these Mets never say die.  The good news is that they are at home tonight and hopefully tomorrow night.  Shea will be rocking.  Instead of Cardinals red, the stands will be bathed in orange and blue and you know it will be loud.  The Mets need to relax and have good at bats.  Of course the best prescription would be for the Mets to score a lot of runs early.  That will require Jose Reyes to get back to the type of at bats he displayed during the regular season.  In the post season, Jose has been over anxious, swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. He appears to have lost the discipline he showed all season.  Some power would be a good thing too.  How about two or three home runs like on Sunday?  That would be nice and frankly it will most likely be essential.

John Maine will have tremendous pressure on him this evening.  This is his moment to shine.  What he does tonight could very well determine his future as a Major League pitcher.  Perhaps that’s not fair but it’s a fact.  The injuries mounted, the starting pitching was a question mark all season anyway, whatever the reason, it is Maine’s turn to pitch.  No one is asking Maine to pitch a complete game shut out.  What Maine needs to do is to stay focused and keep the Mets close so the hitters can put up some crooked numbers on the scoreboard. 

The Mets to a man know what’s at stake. The Mets cannot even think about tomorrow.  As far as they are concerned there is no tomorrow.  For the first time this season after playing 170 baseball games, the Mets face a game they simply must win.  If they don’t there will be a celebration at Shea tonight, but it will be in the wrong locker room.  There will be no excuses, if the Mets don’t pitch, if they don’t hit, it will be time close the gates and go into hibernation. 

The odds are squarely against the Mets but sometimes I get the feeling that’s the way Willie and Co. like it. After a great season, the Mets find themselves having to win one game for the chance to play one more game.  I would not be surprised if in 24 hours we are discussing who will pitch in game seven.  All season long when the Mets would stumble they answered the call and came back with a vengeance.  Tonight it is all hands on deck.  The Mets are beat up, they have had to deal with major injuries at the most inopportune time of the season.  The Mets are backed into a corner as David Wright pointed out after the game last night.  There’s nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal, especially one with injuries.

Extra Innings:  Two times in Mets history the Mets faced elimination in a game six.  The last time was in 1999 when the Mets faced the Braves at Turner Field.  That was a seesaw affair where the Mets came back after trailing big.  They actually took the lead in the game late but the Braves tied it and eventually won the game in extra innings when Kenny Rodgers walked in the winning run.   The Mets also faced elimination in a game six during the 1986 World Series.  Down three games to two, the Mets returned to Shea Stadium and defeated the Red Sox in one of the greatest games in baseball history.  That of course was the famous “Bill Buckner” game.

Why is Fox so infatuated with showing us crowd reaction?  If I see one more Cardinal fan with stupid red tape on their chin I’m going to hurl.  Show us the game, it’s so simple.  Keep the cameras pointed at the field. That’s the big flat area where there is grass and dirt.  It’s where the players are.  You know, the players are the ones with the uniforms on. Those are the people whose actions we are interested in.  I could not care less what some over medicated fan is wearing or doing in the stands.  It does not interest me; it does not interest anyone who is a baseball fan.  And if Fox does this in an attempt to entertain the casual viewer than here’s a news flash.  The casual viewer really doesn’t care either.  Most likely they will turn the game on to see the score then they will change the channel back to the Food Network.  Of all the networks over the years that have broadcast MLB nationally, Fox has done the worst job.  The broadcast is always about them.  It is filled with advertisements for other sporting events and mindless television shows that Fox produces.  Next year the ALCS will be on TBS.  In the following year, TBS will televise the NLCS.  I have to assume their broadcasts will be better than Fox because they couldn’t possible be worse.