STILL TIED....

Mets 3, Giants 3
I have underestimated Omar Vizquel for a long time. Probably because he was never the greatest fantasy player - he hit for a decent average, but had little to no power, and he wasn't worth a draft pick in my eyes. But that interfered with my ability to recognize what he was good at - and he is a solid ballplayer. He is also a great defensive player, something I realize even more the later it gets in his career. He has game-changing defensive abilities, even now. And he showed that off on Tuesday night, saving the game for the Giants in the 9th inning against the Mets.

As I write, the play is a game-saver, because the game is not over, and I'm not going to wait much longer for it. They're tied at 3, heading into the 12th inning. (It figures - this game was flying by, through 9 at 2-and-a-half hours, but of course, here we are an hour later, and it's still tied.) But back to the play - the Mets were in position for a walk-off win. David Wright led off the ninth with a double (his 12th of the year) off the right field wall (he thought it was gone...so did I). With two outs, Wright was at second, Paul LoDuca had been intentionally walked and was at first, and Julio Franco was pinch-hitting. He hit a sharp grounder up the middle, which Vizquel dove to his left to smother, then tossed sort-of-blindly to the second base bag, where Kevin Frandsen stretched and barehanded the ball for the out. Just a great play, and it came at a clutch time.

The Mets got another good start from Oliver Perez in this one - 3 runs on five hits over 7 innings...no walks and 8 strikeouts. The bullpen was just as good - better, considering they haven't given up any runs yet. And maybe we can breathe a sigh of relief about Aaron Heilman - he went an inning-and-a-third and was very good.

Perez was victim to the long ball Tuesday night - he gave up solo homers to Randy Winn and Bengie Molina in the first, then in the 7th, with the Mets up, 3-2, a solo shot to Dan Ortmeier (either Justin or Steve in NYC - any relation to Jed?). The Mets had taken a 3-2 lead after a 2-run homer by Carlos Delgado (he pulled this one - but what's really good to see out of him lately is how much and effectively he's going the other way), and an RBI double by Carlos Beltran.

So here we are, tied at 3, in the 12th inning. I'll say this - whoever puts an end to this game gets Player of the Game honors. I'm off to watch the rest of this in bed.


EXCITING INFORMATION: We're still working out the bugs, but johnnymets.blogspot.com is proud to announce two new ventures. Justin in NYC, Dave in Brighton, the Southern Bureau, and johnnymets are working on a radio show, called "East Coast Bias", starting next Monday at 7pm. You can listen live, and even call in if you'd like to contribute. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eastcoastbias



Johnnymets.blogspot.com is also working on a post-game Mets wrap-up show that will air daily after the Mets games...probably beginning next week, what with school winding down. Again, there will be a number for you to call to discuss the games. We hope you'll listen, and contribute. www.blogtalkradio.com/johnnymets



BEAT THE STREAK: I'm waiting on Nick Swisher to extend my five-gamer, but I'm going with Edgar Renteria on Wednesday night.