?!? I hardly know her!
FLUSHING, N.Y. – Johan Santana is a prideful man. After throwing a career-high 125 pitches Tuesday against the Cubs, he volunteered to pitch on three days’ rest for only the second time in his career today against the Marlins. With the Mets down a game to Milwaukee in the National League Wild Card, manager Jerry Manuel relented.
Next to the Mets’ lineup in the clubhouse today here at Shea Stadium was a handwritten message reading, “It’s time to be a MAN.” The signature read simply, “Johan.”
Santana then took the mound and improbably threw a three-hit shutout that required 117 pitches to complete, pacing the Mets to a 2-0 victory over the Florida Marlins before slightly less than the announced crowd of 54,920 that, combined with a Milwaukee loss to the Cubs, brought the Amazins back into the first-place tie heading to the last game of the season.
“Wow, wow, wow, wow,” Manuel told the New York Times. “I think if I had to describe that one, I’d say that was gangsta. That’s gangsta. That’s serious gangsta right there.”
If this scenario sounds familiar, well, it is. Last year, the Mets went into the last series of the season tied with Philadelphia in the N.L. East. After Friday, the Mets found themselves a game behind. That Saturday, John Maine pitched a gem, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against these same Marlins. Later in the afternoon, the Phillies lost to tie the race yet again. On Sunday … well, you know how that turned out.
The Mets hope that Oliver Pérez isn’t Tom Glavine, even if he has a 6.26 earned-run average this month and he is pitching on three days’ rest for only the second time in his career.
“I hope that our offense takes the game,” Manuel told the Daily News.
In five starts this year against the Marlins, Pérez is 3-0 with a 2.03 E.R.A. Hotheaded southpaw Scott Olsen takes the mound for Florida. In Milwaukee, CC Sabathia will make his third consecutive start on three days’ rest against Carlos Zambrano for the Cubs, though Cubs manager Lou Piniella has suggested that he will only use Zambrano for a couple of innings.
Today’s game, however, gave Mets fans reason to believe. Santana commanded the crowd, and the Marlins, on a cool, misty day in the penultimate regular-season game at Shea Stadium. Knowing the Mets’ bullpen troubles, it seemed like the crowd tried to coax Santana through the entire game. How many times will the crowd stand for a pitcher’s at bat in the eighth inning with no one on base?
“There’s no tomorrow, there’s no tomorrow,” Santana told the Times. “The situation that we were in, there’s no tomorrow. To me, I don’t think about tomorrow. I’ve got to do it today. That’s the way you take care of business.”
There would have been no tomorrow at Shea had the Mets lost and the Brewers won. Since the opposite occurred, there will be a tomorrow here at this old, utilitarian stadium filled with so much promise, but laden with the specter of last year’s final game, which undoubtedly weighs so heavily on everyone’s mind. There will be no cheer louder at Shea than if Pérez can successfully navigate a scoreless first inning.
If the Mets win tomorrow, and the Brewers lose, the Mets will capture the Wild Card and face the Cubs on Wednesday evening at Wrigley Field. Should the opposite occur, the Brewers will head to Philadelphia for their Division Series on Wednesday. If both teams win or lose, there will be yet another game here Monday night between New York and Milwaukee to decide the Wild Card.
But for today, the Mets are back even, thanks to their star pitcher, who was, without question, a man today.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Johan Santana's Big Moment
Tonight was made for Johan Santana. Surely, Omar Minaya hoped the Mets would coast to their second division title in three years, well positioned for a run to the World Series. But, in the back of his mind, Minaya had to be thinking: if only I had Santana taking the ball every fifth day last season.
Perhaps then, the Mets would not have squandered a seven-game N.L. East lead with 17 games remaining. Perhaps then, the Mets would not be suffering from yet another team-wide malaise that threatens to end their season before October once again.
As Wally Matthews put it this morning in Newsday, “If last year was the Collapse, this year is the Relapse.”
Like last season, the new version of the Mets’ late-season woes began with a shoddy, makeshift bullpen. From there, the poison ‘pen spread like a malignant tumor, until it has so damaged the psyche of the team that the starting pitching collapsed under the weight of having to carry the team, the offense did the same, and the defense crumbled.
Rookie starter Jonathan Niese failed to finish the fourth inning last night in a 9-5 Mets loss, getting the hook after surrendering a grand slam to Cubs starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Step one. The Mets now sit two-and-a-half games behind Philadelphia in the division, and more disconcertingly, only a game ahead of Milwaukee for the N.L. Wild Card.
Niese was tentatively scheduled to start the penultimate game of the season on Saturday, but, according to the (White Plains, N.Y.) Journal News’ Josh Thomson, the name “Staffinator” is currently listed as Saturday’s probable starter, likely a humorous way of saying “All hands on deck.”
Rather than the blind public optimism displayed last year by Willie Randolph—who could forget “The Champagne’s going to taste sweet?”—interim manager Jerry Manuel has embraced this role.
“That’s part of who we are. When you sign on with the Mets, you sign on with what happened last year, regardless,” Manuel told the New York Daily News. “As a manager of the team, my job is to separate that and to focus on what's going on this season. … But we have to exorcise those demons at some point, there’s no question about that. Some big ones, too.”
The schedule does not work in the Mets’ favor. Milwaukee opens a three-game series with Pittsburgh tonight at home, and while the Brewers have dropped 15 of their last 20 games, they have dominated the Pirates this season, going 10-1 against them. The Cubs leave Queens on Thursday and head to face the Brewers, but Lou Piniella is likely to take his foot off the pedal just a bit in those games to prepare for the playoffs.
After facing Sean Marshall tonight, the Mets will face Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden for the Cubs. On Friday, weather-permitting, they welcome in the Marlins—who will likely be eliminated from contention by then—for the last series of the season. How did that work out last year?
“We have six games left, and I feel somewhat like a broken record, but everything we want to accomplish is right out there for the grabbing and right out there in front of us,” third baseman David Wright told the Daily News. “We have a week left, six games, and we’re in the driver’s seat.
“We knew it was going to be a tough road, but we need to play well for six games. Last year is over with, done with. It was a failed opportunity, but this year we have a golden opportunity.”
The Mets are counting on Santana being their stopper tonight. Since the All-Star Break, he is 6-0 with a 2.38 earned-run average. A win tonight puts the pressure back on the Brewers, who have been floundering worse than the Mets this season. A loss tells Milwaukee that despite their poor play, which resulted last week in the shocking firing of manager Ned Yost, the door is wide-open.
“As an organization you may think, here we go, blah, blah, blah, we’re going down this road again,” Manuel said. “But there has to be something good at the end of that road. If we keep pressing and pressing, something good’s going to happen.”
It helps to have a pitcher like Santana.
Perhaps then, the Mets would not have squandered a seven-game N.L. East lead with 17 games remaining. Perhaps then, the Mets would not be suffering from yet another team-wide malaise that threatens to end their season before October once again.
As Wally Matthews put it this morning in Newsday, “If last year was the Collapse, this year is the Relapse.”
Like last season, the new version of the Mets’ late-season woes began with a shoddy, makeshift bullpen. From there, the poison ‘pen spread like a malignant tumor, until it has so damaged the psyche of the team that the starting pitching collapsed under the weight of having to carry the team, the offense did the same, and the defense crumbled.
Rookie starter Jonathan Niese failed to finish the fourth inning last night in a 9-5 Mets loss, getting the hook after surrendering a grand slam to Cubs starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Step one. The Mets now sit two-and-a-half games behind Philadelphia in the division, and more disconcertingly, only a game ahead of Milwaukee for the N.L. Wild Card.
Niese was tentatively scheduled to start the penultimate game of the season on Saturday, but, according to the (White Plains, N.Y.) Journal News’ Josh Thomson, the name “Staffinator” is currently listed as Saturday’s probable starter, likely a humorous way of saying “All hands on deck.”
Rather than the blind public optimism displayed last year by Willie Randolph—who could forget “The Champagne’s going to taste sweet?”—interim manager Jerry Manuel has embraced this role.
“That’s part of who we are. When you sign on with the Mets, you sign on with what happened last year, regardless,” Manuel told the New York Daily News. “As a manager of the team, my job is to separate that and to focus on what's going on this season. … But we have to exorcise those demons at some point, there’s no question about that. Some big ones, too.”
The schedule does not work in the Mets’ favor. Milwaukee opens a three-game series with Pittsburgh tonight at home, and while the Brewers have dropped 15 of their last 20 games, they have dominated the Pirates this season, going 10-1 against them. The Cubs leave Queens on Thursday and head to face the Brewers, but Lou Piniella is likely to take his foot off the pedal just a bit in those games to prepare for the playoffs.
After facing Sean Marshall tonight, the Mets will face Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden for the Cubs. On Friday, weather-permitting, they welcome in the Marlins—who will likely be eliminated from contention by then—for the last series of the season. How did that work out last year?
“We have six games left, and I feel somewhat like a broken record, but everything we want to accomplish is right out there for the grabbing and right out there in front of us,” third baseman David Wright told the Daily News. “We have a week left, six games, and we’re in the driver’s seat.
“We knew it was going to be a tough road, but we need to play well for six games. Last year is over with, done with. It was a failed opportunity, but this year we have a golden opportunity.”
The Mets are counting on Santana being their stopper tonight. Since the All-Star Break, he is 6-0 with a 2.38 earned-run average. A win tonight puts the pressure back on the Brewers, who have been floundering worse than the Mets this season. A loss tells Milwaukee that despite their poor play, which resulted last week in the shocking firing of manager Ned Yost, the door is wide-open.
“As an organization you may think, here we go, blah, blah, blah, we’re going down this road again,” Manuel said. “But there has to be something good at the end of that road. If we keep pressing and pressing, something good’s going to happen.”
It helps to have a pitcher like Santana.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Hanging on for Dear Life
For Team Tightrope, every game is an adventure, a crucible for the players, coaches and fans. Sometimes, they fall off, like Sunday, when they squandered a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning and—splat—hit the ground with a thud. But, occasionally, they manage to hold on, clinging for dear life as their bullpen threatens to unravel completely.
Such was the case tonight here before 25,019 fans at Nationals Park, as the Mets escaped with a 9-7 victory over the lowly Nationals, postponing—at least for one night—the Mets’ most recent late-season swoon. Carlos Beltrán slugged two home runs as New York’s offense continued to add onto their lead while the bullpen did its best to give it right back.
The Mets took an 8-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but a combination of Ricardo Rincón, Brian Stokes, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano conspired to surrender five runs and jeopardize what should have been an easy victory. Luis Ayala was summoned from the bullpen to record the final out with the tying run at the plate, which he did, striking out Roger Bernadina to end the game. Mets manager Jerry Manuel tied a franchise record in calling upon eight different pitchers in the game.
“No, I’m not enjoying this, shoot,” Manuel told the New York Times after the game about having to call upon so many relievers. “Walking out there every three minutes, nobody wants to come see me. Shoot, they come to see the guys play. No, this is not the way we drew it up. But we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win. We’ll laugh about it hopefully in November at some time.”
The Mets have a ways to go there, trailing Philadelphia by a half-game in the N.L. East and leading Milwaukee by the same thin margin for the Wild Card.
Their bullpen woes, like last season’s historic collapse, are starting to take their toll on the rest of the team.
“It’s frustrating sometimes because you score some and you think, ‘Now we got them,’” Beltrán confessed to the New York Daily News. “I know they’re trying, but it’s hard to believe what’s happening.”
That mental state is something we’ve seen before from this club, and for many, it will seem all too familiar. Still, the Mets are in the driver’s seat over the final 11 games of the season, starting tonight when they will try to salvage a series split with Washington behind their ace, Johan Santana.
Manuel, when asked what he was hoping for tonight from Santana, quipped, “Hopefully nine innings, 170 pitches.”
Such was the case tonight here before 25,019 fans at Nationals Park, as the Mets escaped with a 9-7 victory over the lowly Nationals, postponing—at least for one night—the Mets’ most recent late-season swoon. Carlos Beltrán slugged two home runs as New York’s offense continued to add onto their lead while the bullpen did its best to give it right back.
The Mets took an 8-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but a combination of Ricardo Rincón, Brian Stokes, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano conspired to surrender five runs and jeopardize what should have been an easy victory. Luis Ayala was summoned from the bullpen to record the final out with the tying run at the plate, which he did, striking out Roger Bernadina to end the game. Mets manager Jerry Manuel tied a franchise record in calling upon eight different pitchers in the game.
“No, I’m not enjoying this, shoot,” Manuel told the New York Times after the game about having to call upon so many relievers. “Walking out there every three minutes, nobody wants to come see me. Shoot, they come to see the guys play. No, this is not the way we drew it up. But we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to win. We’ll laugh about it hopefully in November at some time.”
The Mets have a ways to go there, trailing Philadelphia by a half-game in the N.L. East and leading Milwaukee by the same thin margin for the Wild Card.
Their bullpen woes, like last season’s historic collapse, are starting to take their toll on the rest of the team.
“It’s frustrating sometimes because you score some and you think, ‘Now we got them,’” Beltrán confessed to the New York Daily News. “I know they’re trying, but it’s hard to believe what’s happening.”
That mental state is something we’ve seen before from this club, and for many, it will seem all too familiar. Still, the Mets are in the driver’s seat over the final 11 games of the season, starting tonight when they will try to salvage a series split with Washington behind their ace, Johan Santana.
Manuel, when asked what he was hoping for tonight from Santana, quipped, “Hopefully nine innings, 170 pitches.”
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Editor's Note
Another N.F.L. season is upon us. A lot has changed since we last saw professional football: Brett Favre is a Jet, Joe Gibbs is back with his grandbabies (and NASCAR team) and Chad Johnson isn’t Chad Johnson anymore. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Giants did actually win the Super Bowl seven months ago.
One other thing has change: my picks will no longer appear in this space. They are moving to the new Tee’s Weekly Blog. Last season, I abandoned the picks feature right before my Mets folded like a cheap suit. But I’m picking it back up again. In 2006, I went 128-121-6, and I’m hoping to improve on that performance.
You may know some of my work on Tee’s Weekly already, and in conjunction with the launch of the new blog, Tee and I will be picking the entire season there against the spread. So don’t forget to visit, and enjoy the football.
One other thing has change: my picks will no longer appear in this space. They are moving to the new Tee’s Weekly Blog. Last season, I abandoned the picks feature right before my Mets folded like a cheap suit. But I’m picking it back up again. In 2006, I went 128-121-6, and I’m hoping to improve on that performance.
You may know some of my work on Tee’s Weekly already, and in conjunction with the launch of the new blog, Tee and I will be picking the entire season there against the spread. So don’t forget to visit, and enjoy the football.
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