The Philadelphia Phillies are poised to do something the Mets have not done in exactly twenty-two years ago tonight. That would be to win the Worlds Series and become champions of all baseball.

 

Now I am not one to pay much attention to all the nonsense in regards to who says what in a locker room about another team. But if in fact the Phillies do walk off with the prized trophy tonight, I would say to every Mets player the first day of spring training to keep their mouths shut. The team to beat now is clearly the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

It’s time for the Mets to prove that they are worthy to be on the same field as the Phillies. Oh sure, we will hear about how the Mets took the season’s series from them but the fact is the Phillies have made the playoffs two years in a row, perhaps culminating in a world championship tonight with Cole Hamels on the mound.

 

Omar Minaya has his work cut out for him. He somehow must figure out how to rebuild his bullpen including finding a legitimate closer, not an easy task. If that’s all he does, I would consider the coming winter productive.

 

Many have suggested that the Phillies grit and guile is so much more than the Mets. The truth is, if the Mets could have held on to leads and secured saves the way the Phillies did, they would have appeared to have guts and guile too. Phillies – Mets = bullpen. That was the difference between the two clubs and will be again unless Omar can make changes.

 

It is unlikely the Mets will sign Francisco Rodriguez. He’ll want a five year deal for an exorbitant amount of money. It’s simply too risky. A trade for a closer is more likely but it will cost the Mets. No, it won’t cost Reyes, Wright, or Beltran but it could cost a Daniel Murphy, a Jon Neise, or perhaps even a Fernando Martinez. The Mets are going to have to give up something to get quality in return.

 

If the World Series does end tonight, in fifteen days, free agents will begin filing then the hot stove will officially begin. It should be an interesting winter and with the Phillies at least being the National League champions, the pressure will be on the Mets to improve and get to the next level. For them, that means making the playoffs.

 

Notes: In 1986, game 7 is often considered anti-climatic after game 6 but the Mets did need to win the World Series final game in order to secure a championship.

 

Game 7 was played twenty-two years ago tonight. The game at Shea Stadium was delayed a day because of rain which made everyone nervous that the momentum gained by the Mets victory after game 6 would have dissipated two days later. When the Red Sox scored three in the second off of Ron Darling and the Mets could not do anything offensively for five innings, it appeared game 6 may have gone for naught.

 

However, in the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded, Keith Hernandez singled in two runs. A fielder’s choice from catcher Gary Carter plated the third run tying the game. In the seventh, Ray Knight hit a homerun to give the Mets a 4-3 lead but they were not done. They mounted a rally and scored another two runs. After seven, the Mets held a 6-3 lead.

 

In the top of the eighth inning, Daryl Evans doubled in two runs cutting the Mets lead to one. In the bottom half of the inning, Daryl Strawberry homered as he is just now rounding third. Straw sure took his time circling the bags that night. The Mets got another run setting up the ninth inning for Jesse Orosco.

 

With an 8-5 lead, Orosco got the first two outs. The game was delayed a few minutes after a smoke bomb was thrown on the field. Finally Jesse got Marty Barrett to swing and miss at a slider striking him out to end the game giving the Mets their second and last world championship.

 

The Mets made it to the World Series one more time. That was in 2000 when they lost to the Yankees in five games.

It hurts me to say it but congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for winning the National League pennant. There, now that’s out of the way.

 

If one more sports talk show host speaks before they think or writer writes before they think, I’ll lose my mind. I am so tired of hearing if the Mets had a Shane Victorino type player, they would have had the guts to win. It’s a broken record.

 

Will everybody stop looking at the last weekend of the series as if it were the entire season, especially you Mike Francesa. Here is why the Phillies are going to the World Series and the Mets will be watching on TV. It has nothing to do with the size of Shane Victorino’s …well, you know, or the lack of such on the Mets. The Phillies bullpen was superior to the Mets. That’s what wins championships in this modern era of baseball and that’s what did the Mets in.

 

The Phillies closer, Brad Lidge, is the teams unofficial MVP. He has not blown a single save all year. Even though last night’s outing for him was not a save situation, you knew the Dodgers were done when the bottom of the ninth arrived with the Phillies holding a comfortable four run lead.

 

The Phillies also had setup man Ryan Madson who was outstanding. Plus they had Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, Clay Condrey, J.A. Happ, and J.C Romero rounding out their pen that performed almost flawlessly for the Phillies all season long. By contrast, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Luis Ayala, Rick Wise, and Scott Schoeneweis had awful years for the Mets. And don’t forget that before Billy Wagner went down with his season ending elbow injury, he had already blown seven saves.

 

The Mets offense was comparable to the Phillies and so was their starting pitching. But like a broken record it must be said again and again. It’s not a gutsy player like Shane Victorino the Mets need, it’s the bullpen…it’s the bullpen…it’s the bullpen…it’s the bullpen…it’s the bullpen…

After the collapse of 2007, Omar Minaya set out to make several changes to help sure up the team. Most notable was the trade for JoAnn Santana from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Carlos Gomez, Phillip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra. Outfielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider were brought in from the Washington Nationals in exchange for Lastings Milledge. Also Luis Castillo was signed to a four year contract to play second base. Matt Wise was signed to add to the bullpen.   more »

True to form, the Mets followed their blueprint of the season. An offense incapable of generating any runs combined with a bullpen that can’t stop giving them up ended the season.

 

It wasn’t as gruesome as the Tom Glavine ninth inning meltdown of last season but the end was just as painful.

 

I refuse to give into the media interpretation and call the end a collapse but I would call the end of this season a disaster only because it came on the heels of last season.

 

The Mets had a 3.5 game lead with 17 to play. But they also had one of the worst bullpens in baseball. And in fairness, it did not help that closer Billy Wagner went down with a month to go in the season. There is no question that injuries played a huge part of the Mets downfall in 2008. But even with all the injuries, had the bullpen done their job this year, the Mets would have clinched a playoff spot days if not weeks ago. The bullpen was the primary reason why the Mets season ended today.

 

The other major problem was hitting in the clutch. Too often, this offense was incapable of getting big hits and that includes the big hitters like David Wright.

 

With the days to come we’ll take it all apart. But right now, like you, I’m just too stunned…again!

Well, here we are. One hundred-sixty-one games in and the Mets find themselves in the exact same place they were in a year ago. Well almost exactly.

 

Last season, on the last day, the Mets were in a flat footed tie with the Philadelphia Phillies for the lead in the National League East. Tom Glavine took the hill and was not able to get a single Marlin out. By the time the Mets came to bat, they were trailing 7-0. They never got back into the game, the Marlins were true spoilers. Meanwhile down in Philly, the Phillies won their game against Washington to win the division and the Mets went home.

 

This year, on this day, the Phillies are already the National League East champions. They won their game against the Nationals again and clinched the division leaving the Mets in second place.

 

But the Mets are not done. Similar to last year, they won the penultimate game on a brilliant pitching performance. Last year it was John Maine who almost pitched a no hitter. This year, it was Johan Santana who pitched a complete game three hit shutout on short rest to at least make tomorrow's game meaningful.

 

Following Santana’s brilliant performance, the Milwaukee Brewers lost their game to the Chicago Cubs. Combined with the Mets win, both clubs are now tied for the wild card. So in a surreal way, it’s as if the baseball gods are giving the Mets a second chance, a chance to redeem themselves for last year.

 

If the Mets can beat the Marlins this time, it will insure at least a play-in game on Monday against the Brewers at Shea Stadium. A play-in game will also be required if both teams lose on Sunday. If one team wins and the other loses, the winner goes to the playoffs, the loser goes home. The Mets must play the Marlins, and like last year Florida will take being the spoiler very seriously. The Brewers, with CC Sabathia on the mound, will play the Cubs. While Chicago has already secured a playoff spot, they will be making Milwaukee earn it. Lou Piniella hates to lose any game.

 

Oliver Perez will pitch for the Mets in the final game. He has not had a good month. But Perez has always shown he can be a big game pitcher. Game number 162 will be the biggest game of his career. Perez will enter free agency this winter. A win in the season finale could go a long way toward a new salary for the left hander.

 

So what’s it going to be? Will it be a game where the Mets score nine runs or a game where they leave runners on struggling to score two? Will it be a well pitched game by Ollie or will he get pulled in the third inning. Will it be a game that the bullpen can hold the lead for the win or one where the bullpen breaks our hearts again? These types of games have been the legacy of this 2008 team.

 

When it’s all over, we will feel either exhilaration or despair, nothing in between. I hope for the best because the celebration of Shea Stadium after the game should be something wonderful. But I also know I could be very disappointed.

 

Good luck to the Mets and good luck to the Mets fans. Hopefully we will all find the strength to make it through one more game.

Now we will find out if there is any magic left in Shea Stadium. The Mets were once known as the Miracle Mets but that was a long time ago. A new miracle will have to be fashioned for the Mets to reach the post season now.

 

The Mets looked lethargic last night. The Marlins took the starch right out of the crowd and the Mets when they scored two quick runs in the first inning. Mike Pelfrey pitched a fine game and he remains something to be positive about for the future. But the Mets batters, as so many times this season, were unable to get key hits, especially in the early innings.

 

After loading the bases in the first inning, two on in the second and third, the Mets came away empty. This is nothing new. The ability to get key hits with runners in scoring position and two outs has hurt the Mets all season. It’s one of the reasons why tomorrow’s game at Shea will likely close the building. But it's not the main reason.

The biggest reason why the Mets will likely not get to the post season is the bullpen and we were not disappointed last night either. The pen was responsible for giving up three additional runs. But frankly the Mets were never in this game anyway. The Met hating Marlins out played the Amazins and for two years in a row it looks as if Florida will spoil the party.

 

The papers will have a field day writing articles about the second collapse in a row. Given the fact that the Mets really did not control first place to the degree they did last year, it’s hard for me to see this ending as a collapse of the same magnitude. But coming on the heels of last year is what makes it feel just as devastating.

 

It probably would have been better had the Mets had not reached first place this season. That gave us false hope. Think about it, the Mets bullpen has been a complete disaster all season long blowing countless leads. Once Billy Wagner went down, there was no way the Mets would be able to hold on to any lead late in the game. The responsibility of getting to the post season fell squarely on the Mets hitters. Sorry but baseball history shows teams seldom pound their way to the post season. Good pitching will always stop good hitting and that was the case last night.

 

The real story is how amazing it is that this Mets team is still mathematically alive with two games left in the season. I know that’s not the way most Mets fans will look at this. I just heard Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on WFAN screaming and crying about how the Mets continue to punch us in the stomach. The fact is the Mets lost the division and the wild card all season long in that bullpen. Had that bullpen saved just half of the leads they blew, the Mets would have already clinched a post season berth. You want blame Mets fans, then here is who you blame: Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Duaner Sanchez, Luis Ayala, Brian Stokes, Nelson Figueroa, Joe Smith, and Billy Wagner. Oh and let’s not forget Omar Minaya who built this pen and has received a four year extension. You can blame him too.

 

Perhaps this post mortem is a bit premature. Johan Santana is going today and if he can somehow fashion a win on short rest and the Cubs can defeat the Brewers, the Mets will be back in business for one more day.

That certainly was a text book slide by Ryan Church. Kids, don’t try that at home.

 

Last night’s game got me thinking. Win or lose, I can’t wait till this season is over. I’m trying to recover from a very bad cold. These games are not helping me feel better.

 

However, unlike the night before, the Mets came through. After Rincon gave up the three run bomb on his first pitch, I felt that this weekend would be a very sad for the Mets. Overcoming a 6-3 deficit late in the game is not the Mets specialty. But they chipped away and managed to tie the score on a flurry of base hits in the eighth inning. And let’s not forget that the rally began after Carlos Delgado hit a rocket ground ball into a double play.

 

When Cancel hit the ball through on the right side, Church looked to be dead to rights at the plate. But Ryan managed to run around the catcher, dive, and get his hand down on the plate before he was tagged. I wonder how close the umpire was to calling Church out of the baseline. But to my surprise that was never argued.

 

Many may criticize Lou Piniella for not having any starters in the game except for Jim Edmonds. But Lou likely did not want to risk an injury to key players in such poor conditions. And if anyone noticed, a fellow by the name of Micah Hoffpauir went 5 for 5, and hit two home runs, and knocked in 5 runs. He almost single handedly put the Mets where they did not want to be when the night was finished. The Mets did manage to score three runs off of Rich Harden, one of the Cubs aces.

 

This was a great win in that it put some destiny back into the Mets hands. On a very rainy Friday morning, The Mets are tied with Milwaukee (who also won again) for the wild card. The Mets remain one full game behind the Phillies. If the Mets can win their remaining three games, the worst they will face is a one game playoff with the Brewers. If they could run the table it’s also possible their fate would be even better. Winning the last three will be the key.

 

The Mets will open the final series in Shea Stadium tonight weather permitting. History will show that the first series was played with the Pirates in April of 1964. The last one is against Florida and is certainly much more important.

 

While the Mets play the Marlins, the Phillies will host the Nationals in Citizen’s Bank Park. The Brewers will play their final home stand against the Cubs. Gee, I hope Lou put’s in his A lineup.

 

The weather is going to play havoc all weekend with the Mets and Phillies. Rain, heavy at times, with wind is predicted to fall all day and all night long. It does not look much better for tomorrow either. It could be possible the Mets and Phillies may either have to play a double header tomorrow or extend the season into Monday.  This should make for quite a mess.

 

There will be some sort of closing Shea ceremony before the game on Sunday. SNY plans to be on the air at 11:30AM.

Baseball Prospectus has published an excellent article using statistical analysis to determine what has gone wrong with Mets. After reading, it I came away with the feeling that we should be damn happy the Mets are where they are. They simply have no business vying for a playoff spot which does say something about the team's character. Click here to read.

The Mets went 5-12 through the last 17 games of last September. This year the Mets are 5-8 so far through the last 17. I'm just saying...

It’s a moment stuck in time that will wake up David Wright in cold sweats all winter long. Hopefully Carlos Beltran can comfort David and provide advice for dealing with such an at bat. You see Beltran had one of his own that ended the 2006 season.

 

Realistically though, Wright was up against the Master. There was nothing he could do. When Daniel Murphy slid into third, clapping his hands knowing the Mets had the best opportunity all night long to put the game away, the Master in the opposing dugout thought in the back of his mind that he had the Mets right where he wanted them.

 

Gary Cohen, who was rather emotional last night, stated that the Master would likely walk the basis loaded. But the Master had another idea. Instead he pitched to Wright. He knew that Wright would be over anxious. The Master had Wright pitched hard and inside. The count was worked to 3-2. All Wright needed to do was to zone in on a pitch he could drive and the game would be over. There was no way the Master would allow that. If the Master’s pitcher gave Wright something fat to swing at, he likely would have been beheaded after the game. The pitch was a bit high and outside. Wright had no chance as he swung late. The Master had won the first battle.

 

The next thing the Master did was to have Delgado and Beltran walked intentionally. The master knew that his chances were slim but like any good field general, he could increase his odds for success by exposing the enemy’s weakness.

 

Ryan Church, who has been awful lately, was next up. With the infield in, Church hit a hard grounder right at the second baseman. A fielder’s choice at the plate kept the game going. The master was one out away.

 

When catcher Ramon Castro struck out on a pitch not even remotely a strike, the Master felt content. The Mets were in incredible position to win the ball game. With a runner on third with no out and the big three hitters coming up, all with over 100 RBI, the Mets failed to score. And you wonder why the Cubs have the best shot of winning a World Series in a century.

 

The Master of course is Lou Piniella. You can now understand why the Mets so desperately wanted Piniella to manage back in 2002. Unfortunately the compensation the Seattle Mariners wanted, Jose Reyes, was too much. They settled for Art Howe and then the Mets became irrelevant.

 

As bad a loss as last night’s game was for the Mets you had to admire the fantastic job Lou Piniella did in the ninth inning. There was no way he would have walked Wright and Delgado intentionally to pitch to Beltran. Of the three hitters, Piniella correctly surmised that David Wright would be the most vulnerable to striking out being over anxious. That’s a good decision made by good scouting. And while we all admonish the Mets hitters for not being able to convert runs all night long, you must give credit to the Cubs who have a real bullpen.

 

For one night it was not the Mets bullpen that can be blamed. Oh sure, we could complain that Duaner Sanchez should not have allowed inherited runners to score and Ayala did have two outs in the 10th inning before he gave up three runs. Last night’s loss happened because hitters were not able to get runners in from scoring position. The Mets had first and third in the seventh and could not score. They had the bases loaded in the eighth and only managed a one run on a walk to tie the game.

 

Oliver Perez deserves blame too. He has had a miserable month. Perez was given a 5-1 lead thanks to Delgado's grand slam homerun but could not hold it. He began walking the ballpark like the Ollie of old. I think the Mets have to think very carefully about bringing this guy back next year. With what Scott Boras will want, it may be worth investigating other opportunities on the free agent market.

 

The optimist would say it could have been worse, the Phillies could have won. True, I guess. But the fact that the Phillies lost made last night’s Mets loss all the more devastating. Had the Mets won, they would be tied in losses back with the Phillies for the division lead with four games to play. The Mets would still be leading the wild card by 1.5 games.

 

Instead, the Mets remain 1.5 (1 game in the loss column) behind the Phillies and are now tied with the Brewers, who won last night, for the wild card.

 

Realistically the Mets will not win the division. It’s not impossible but it is highly improbable. For the Mets to get into the playoffs they must somehow figure out a way to win tonight against Rich Harden (10-2). That’s not going to be easy with Pedro Martinez facing the Cubs lineup. However if they can do that, the Mets are guaranteed to enter the weekend tied for the wild card lead. The Mets would have three games left with the Marlins while the Brewers will be playing the Cubs for three. Hopefully the Cubs can destroy the Brewers dreams like they have done to the Mets.

 

The Mets are now 10-10 in September. It’s not as bad as last year but this is not how the plans were drawn up. It really is going to take a miracle for the Mets to make the playoffs. And if they make it, do you honestly think they will beat the Cubs in the first round?

Santana came to the rescue and the Mets got some timely hitting. At least for one more day the Mets remain in sole possession of the wild card lead. And around the league, other teams were helping out too.

 

With the Mets win, Florida and St. Louis have been officially eliminated from the wild card race leaving only the Mets, Brewers and Astros. Houston has a magic number of two for elimination. What this means for the Mets is that this weekend’s series will mean little to the Marlins. There motivation will simply be their hatred for the Mets.

 

But before the Marlin’s series, the Mets must play two more games against the Chicago Cubs, not an easy task. The Phillies lead the Mets for the division by one game in the loss column. Realistically however, I cannot see the Mets overtaking the Phillies for the division. Philadelphia has been just too hot lately.

 

Some other highlights last evening were Wright and Reyes who came through with huge hits with runners in scoring position. Reyes has put to rest his September problems from a year ago and Wright has been awesome lately. But as you could predict, when asked to close out the game, Pedro Feliciano could not get more than one out. He gave up two singles in a row which prompted Manuel to sprint to the mound and bring in Ayala who got the save. Exhale.

 

In other news, the New York Yankees were officially eliminated from post season play with Boston’s win against Cleveland. You’ll pardon me if I don’t get all teary eyed. The shame of it is I would be enjoying the Bombers down fall much more if the Mets were closer to locking up a post season berth themselves. I mean how comfortable do you feel sticking it to Yankee fans when the Mets are hanging by a thread as it is.

 

But seriously I don’t want to hear about what the Yankees need to do to correct this travesty. Give me a break. Isn’t it high time that Yankee fans got a taste of what it’s like for their team to not reach the playoffs?

 

Since 1995 through 2007 the Yankees were in the post season. Take a look at the following table –

 

1995-2007
Yankees	13
Braves	11
Cardinals	7
Indians	7
Red Sox	7
Astros	6
A's	5
Angels	4
Diamondbacks	4
Dodgers	4
Giants	4
Mariners	4
Padres	4
Twins	4
Cubs	3
Mets	3
Rangers	3
Marlins	2
Orioles	2
Rockies	2
White Sox	2
Phillies	1
Reds	1
Tigers	1
Blue Jays	0
Brewers	0
Expos/Nationals	0
Pirates	0
Rays	0
Royals	0

 

The table shows the number of times a team has reached the playoffs (not consecutively).

 

As you can see, the only team that comes close to the Yankees is the Braves. During the same years, Atlanta had a streak of eleven games. Realize if you expand the range to 1991, the Braves have a longer streak of 14.

 

The point is I don’t want to hear Yankee fans whining about their team not being in the post season. You know who should be whining? The Blue Jay, Brewers, Nationals (Expos), Pirates, and Royals fans, there teams did not make the post season one time during this period. That was also true of the Rays but that has changed this season.

 

Yankee fans, if you like, you can borrow a phrase uttered many times in Brooklyn and then Queens—Just wait until next year…