Mets 5, Phillies 3 (26-26, 3.5 GB)

Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Wins like last night's really make you start to think something's going on with this team, don't they?

The Mets came from behind (thanks to Todd Zeile) and won in extra innings (thanks to Todd Zeile) for the second night in a row, completing the sweep of the Phillies. That lands the Mets back at .500 in time for this weekend's four-game series with the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium.

Did you kind of feel like the Mets would come back last night? With two outs in the eighth, Vance Wilson, pinch-hitting, singled over second base. Hmm...they've had two-out rallies before, maybe they can get another one going. Then Kaz Matsui doubles down the line. He might be only hitting .262, but he always seems to come through in the clutch. Then up comes Mr. Clutch lately, Zeile. I was thinking he'd get a single to get the Mets back to within a run. But then he hits that long foul ball. And I'm thinking no way he's hitting a home run off this guy. And then he does. And the tenth inning homer was out of nowhere. I mean, I was hoping he'd get the run home, but another homer!?!? It's great.

And the players look like they're having a blast. They were celebrating in the dugout after both homers. It's like they knew after they came back to tie it in the eighth, there was no way they can lose the game. Just like a winning team. Something special's brewing...

The Marlins are now in town for four games. I think after the Marlins swept the Mets last weekend, we'd have to be happy with a split in this series. The Mets are 3.5 back of Florida, tied with Atlanta, and just a game and a half behind Philadelphia. A split would keep them in that same range, with some very winnable interleague games on tap. Everyone's saying how awesome it would be to see the Mets get to Armando Benitez this weekend (and how awesome it would be to see him get the booing of a lifetime when he enters a game at Shea). I agree on both counts, but even more awesome would be for the Mets to not be in a situation where the Marlins can get a save at all this weekend. We'll see how that works out. There's still plenty of season left (a whole lot of season left), but the most important series of the year so far begins tonight.

FOR THOSE WHO CARE: Last night was the first game of the season for the softball team. (I am playing for the team as an employee's spouse.) We trounced the other team, 26-13, on "the field behind the Barbieri School in Framingham" to start the season 1-0. Everyone contributed to the big win...but here are some notable performances (no one reading this knows who these people are, so I shall refer to them by position):
The Pitcher/Second Basewoman survived slipping in a puddle behind first base to get the win, and a few hits.
The Left Fielder provided the low-light of the day by allowing a line-drive to go over his head, while sipping a beer, and proceeding to chase the ball down, never putting the beer down. The runner scored on an inside-the-park homer, but the left fielder never spilled any of the beer. Way to go!
Jack McKeon complained that we was running up the score, stretching doubles into triples, and kicking the ever-living crud out of the opposing team. Maybe the other team will now go on to win the World Series.
The next game is on Monday night, on the Charles Bank. A recap will appear Tuesday.

Mets 4, Phillies 1 (25-26, 4.5 GB)

Tuesday, June 1, 2004

It's been a week, and the Mets are pretty much right back where they started the 12-game stretch against the Phillies and Marlins. They're a game under .500 again, and with Tom Glavine pitching tonight, there's a good chance they'll get to 26-26. But let's not jump the gun.

Last night's game was great. Al Leiter looked good, pitching out of a couple of jams in his first start back from the DL. Unfortunately, he only went five innings. David Weathers was decent in relief - but that balk was ridiculous. What was he doing?! If that doesn't happen, the Mets win the game 1-0, without extra innings. The announcers were saying they weren't sure it was a balk...but it sure looked like a balk to me.

Todd Zeile was clutch, saving Weathers with a game-tying homer in the top of the eighth, and then getting Kaz Matsui home with the game-winning run in the tenth. Vance Wilson provided the insurance with a 2-run, pinch-hit homer in the tenth.

One side note - I feel like the Mets taking Mike Piazza out for defensive purposes, like they did last night in the eighth inning, is going to come back to bite them someday. It didn't last night, but I just think taking his bat out of the lineup, especially when you have trouble scoring runs like the Mets do, is like playing with fire.

Notes: The Daily News reports today that Kaz Matsui is going to start wearing glasses in the field. They say coaches feel he can't see the catcher's signs, and therefore is having trouble positioning himself defensively. So he might start wearing Jason Phillips-type goggles at short. If that improves his play, I'm going to be pissed. This guy's been playing blind all this time?! He'd better wear the glasses at the plate too...Dontrelle Willis goes for the Marlins this afternoon against former Met Cory Lidle and the Cincinnati Reds. Those Reds, at 31-21, own the National League's best record. I still say they won't last. But we might as well ride the wave and hope they beat the Marlins one more time.