Tomorrow is Another Day

I was at work today monitoring the disaster game. I am crazed, as I am about to be out of town all next week for work (don't worry, I promise road blogging) and watching the score go up and down like a roller coaster. To make it worse, I was surrounded by giddy Yankee fans.

Now it should be known that I hate roller coasters. If someone asks me to go on one, I typically will with the end result being my face in a garbage can less than a half hour later. You'd think I would learn and not do this, but like a jackass I try and try thinking the end result will be different. It never is.

That's how today's game felt, but more disturbing than that is how baseball is starting to make me feel. This is worse than an Election Day to me. I can't take the drama, I can't take the agony, I can't take the pain.

I would probably just give up after last night (courtesy of the shamen) and today (courtesy of pitching problems), but I can't. We were hitting like we should and Pedro is back in another week or so. Plus, I have made it this damn far. It's September for gawd's sake and we are still in first place.

I know we're off to Atlanta, so as Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day".

AARGH!

Yes, it is in caps. And yes, I am yelling. Not only was luck not on our side in last night's 3-2 loss to the Phillies, it was as bad as a downright curse. Has a shaman put a vex on the Mets or on Citizens Field? It's the only explanation I can come up with to explain Oli walking the pitcher as well as the bizarro call against Marlon Anderson.

Hey Mr. Shaman, there's a guy named CB Bucknor, he's an umpire.... I will look up his address and email it to you.

Matzo Bats are Back (and it's not good)

Why do we always suck the later in the season it gets? Last season September was pretty much awful. But then again, we were waay more than 5 games up and neither the Phillies or the Braves were where they are this year as competitors.

Luck was not on our side in last night's 4-2 loss to the Phillies, with a roller that rolled the wrong way. So it goes. What is more troublesome to me is the recurrence of problems such as matzo bats and relievers that bring no relief. We should be scoring runs; Citizens Park (while lovely) is as small as Barbie's House. We should be adding to our numbers and winning games, not helping that arrogant Jimmy Rollins. Blech.

Frustration. That's all I can say.

And P.S.... welcome back to Endy! Take the kindness now, as I am sure I will complain about you in a few days.

Fall is Here

I was there in late June when the Mets ate the Phillies for dinner. They ate them for lunch too, I just didn't go to the game. They even had snacks the next day.

But you would never have know that last night after the 9-2 pounding the Phillies gave my Mets. It was like one of those Pennsylvania Dutch Country smorgasbords for Philly.

And they got their giant meal. My boyfriend ejected for rejected authority the whole game. The Philles coach was ejected too. It's September friends, even if the calendar says August 28. Heck, ask the Presidential candidates... it's been September for months. Or at least their schedules have seemed like it.

Melting

It's the top of the 6th, Mets down 4-2 against the Dodgers. I wanted to believe that Johnny M. had it goin' on tonight. The beginning looked good, looked real good.

But now, melting like the Wicked Witch of the West.

UPDATE: 5-2, Schoeneweis is pitching, now it is 6-2, a double steal with runners on 2nd and 3rd and gettin' as ugly as the WWW's warts. Ugh.

My Boyfriend is HOT

Ok, I know David Wright is hot, like cute hot, but his numbers are amazin'. According to my friends over at Metsblog.com:

Mets 3B David Wright is the only player in the National League hitting over .300, with at least 80 runs scored, 80 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 20 home runs..... He is batting .403 in 77 at-bats in August, and .373 with a .489 OBP since the All-Star break. He has reached base in 15 of his last 19 plate appearances.

This post is motivated by the wonderful post excerpted above and the very stupid article in today's NY Post. This feeble attempt at lifestyle writing by a sports writer is worse than an actor running for president. Leave the Cosmo crap to those who can pull it off, Mr. Kernan. Thanks.

Plugging Away to October

Instead of watching baseball, yesterday I did a 63 mile bike ride for fun. I realize this is crazy. Today I am exhausted and looking forward to seeing Johnny get his groove back tonight (esp because I am doing absolutely NOTHING today).

Yesterday's 4-3 win against the Dodgers was good stuff. El Duque, as per usual, a beast of the finest order. I would argue he has been the most solid pitcher in our rotation all season. Granted, he has only been back since July, but we have not seen El Duque meltdowns as we have for pretty much everyone else on the mound.

For the closing, the not always predictable Heilman managed to keep it together for the win. But no Billy Wagner yesterday and not a lot of info, except something about a dead arm. Now, I have bitched the last few weeks about Billy and for good reason. But I hope he is back soon, as he is overall one of the best closers in baseball (29 saves, 2.05 ERA) and probably more predictable than anything else we've got. Plus, we'll need him in the post season.

Carlos D out of the funk. We need him back, just as much as we need to keep winning. We're at lucky number 7, let's see how much further we can go.

Ain't Going Down Like That

Last night's 9-8 loss to the Padres was the ickiest kind of loss. It was mostly luck, with a dash of bad pitching on our part (although it could be said that is 90 percent of baseball and probably of life).

But more important than tears, this is a wakeup call for the Mets. As of right now, the Padres are the wild card team. At the end of September, it might be what we have to face in the NLDS. And while this was only a three game series, I can assure you that many a Met will wake up this morning and think about how there is no way... no f&*cking way.... that an outing like that would mean the end of the chase.

Consider this series a straw poll. We know who we need to beat.

Groundhog Day

Haven't we been here before? Last night's 7-5 loss (which I caught most of on TV... jet lag is still nipping at me, hence the 5 am post) to the Padres was kinda painful to watch because I have seen precisely this before. The bats were performing beautifully, with the Jose, Luis, Carlos show doing what we need it to do...finally! But again, no relief from that damn ex-druggie Mota.

Now, I have bitched and bitched about our relief pitching, but I am fully disgusted now. We had a good chance to beat one of the best pitchers in the NL last night and it was our relief pitching that sunk us. It is late August, which is just too late to still have this crap happening. The bats are alive, it's time for the relief pitching to get with the program.

My only consolation is that both Atlanta and Philly lost. Phew. Enough of my rant. As reader MEC will remind me, it is about that and not about just one game.

Back!

Things are getting back to normal. I am home and today I got out of bed at 6 instead of 4 (jet lag), Carlos Beltran is the beast we know and love, and the Mets won a crazy ass game 7-6 against the NL Wild Card leader Padres.

Some things are still out of whack: Johnny Maine not even lasting 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. Billy Wagner giving me indigestion (while this is not uncommon, it is out of whack). Women fighting hand to hand combat in politics. Going to bed last night before Sportscenter.

I guess all a girl can do is watch, wait, hope, and try to stay up later.

What I find interesting about last night's game is the players (other than Carlos B), who made stuff happen. Names we didn't hear in April and May - Lastings Milledge (ok, there was the bad rap record...), Luis Castillo, Marion Anderson, and Mike DiFelice. All of these players were clutch and all of them are new. It's a testament to the talent of these guys, the team, the coaches, and Omar.

The next week or so will test 'em for sure - SD, LA, Philly and Atlanta. But it's all good.

It's All Good

Good news ... found bag. Better news... Mets beat the Marlins. None of my stuff appears to be missing and the Mets bats are coming along as good as my tan - which is quite nice now.

Off to Pittsburgh without a catcher. I believe we can beat them. DeFelice almost not making the game is like a flashback to 1986 when so many players would get throw out, they would rotate the pitcher.

Times change, but crazy crap still happens.

Lost

I'm making this quick... in Barcelona, Alitalia lost my bags somewhere between Milan and here. The Mets have lost 2. Blogger is in Spanish. Lost, lost, lost.

Now the good news, which I am much more focused on... the sun, my favorite beach in the whole world in Stiges, and Carlos B is back.

Going to the Alitlia website now to track my lost Dolce and Gabana skirt. Besos.

Tight, but it Fits

Tight. Last night we eeked out a 4-3 win against the nefarious Braves. It's still a win, so I am going to focus on that. I am not going to micromanage the situation, a la an insecure politician. Instead, I am going to focus on El Duque's good pitching, nice bats from the new boy and Shawn Green's 4 for 4 night... nice! I don't think I didn't want to mention Billy Wagner here, as it will just ruin the groove. But man, that guy makes me more nervous than a truss bridge.

They've just got to keep it up. After all, Mets fans are lucky these days, right?

I leave today for sunny, beautiful Barcelona, where there is a lot of technology, so it may be possible to both keep up with the Mets AND maybe even blog about it.

Now That Hurt!

I tried to write last night, but the pain was just too great. A tough one. A spanking. Worse than being Mike Gravel, left out of last night's Presidential debate. 7-3 loss to the Braves.

I'm blaming this on my upcoming vacation, which starts tomorrow. A lack of focus by the Mets, a lack of focus by me.

I'm trying to keep it together.... to not let the pessimism, the weight of the years of losses pile up and blind me to a couple of things.

1. We've stayed in first place all season. This does not happen to crappy teams. This happens to teams that have a shot at the playoffs.

2. We have been ravaged by injuries by our first string of players and we have still managed #1.

3. We have some amazing talent and I have to believe in it. But more importantly, they need to believe in themselves.

I guess all this madness comes from being so close, yet so far. Yes, we are in first place, but our lead just shrunk by a game, something we could ill afford. When you're ahead, anything that chips away at that lead, that threatens it, hurts more than never being there in the first place.

Sigh. It's gonna be ok. We'll both be back. The Mets before me, I hope.

Shaken, Not Stirred

I just got home from the music festival and am beyond wiped out. It's the top of the 6th and Tom Terrific is closing in on 300. I am closing in on sleep. I may have to go to bed before I can witness the magic.

And while I am thrilled for Tommy G and I am soo happy he is a Met today, I just remember that he once was one of the banes of our existence. Bygones. He stayed with us, so he is now one of us. Trying to be loyal, despite what politics has tried to do to me.

But quickly... the Jose/Luis cocktail is a lethal one if mixed just right. And tonight, a double base steal is shaken, not stirred. Just like I like it.

Double Time

I know this is a big baseball weekend... Barry, A-Rod (Who I must give props to... I am no Yankees fan, but A-Rod is an exceptionally talented ballplayer and I have to give him that. And normally I wouldn't, but c'mon. Youngest player to hit 500? Impressive.)

Mr. Viagra's next shot at 300 is also happening today. And the Mets are again on national TV. But where I am? Not watching baseball.... I have been at the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore. The hightlight was yesterday when I was wearing both a Mets hat and a Mets backpack, I had two guys come up behind me and furiously fanning me in the 90 degree stickiness while yelling, "We love it, double time." Mets fan are everywhere.

Very awesome and much less upsetting than Johnny Maine's meltdown yesterday. Look, he's young. Yesterday is a reminder that our typically stoic, extremely talented 25 year old pitcher has as much experience pitching as some of the peeps running for President have in public service.

Just sayin'....

Guess Who I Think I Saw?

No, it's not the ghost of FDR or anything like that. It's the New York Mets. The top of the NL East NY Mets, the team with the best record in the National League. They played yesterday and I don't think I've seen them since maybe May, before I went to Italy.

Nice to see you guys, I missed you. 12-4 against the Brewers. Hey, I remember you. Some of you guys are missing, but you are just like those guys from the spring.... You are fast, you pitch well and most important, you score.

Willie said it, “Scoring early and adding on, that’s the key.”

Welcome back.

Tommy G, the Actor

Just poking around this morning and stumbled on this very funny ages old advert starring Tommy G. Check it out.

Ouch!

Sometimes it hurts to watch Billy Wagner. I realize the numbers are on his side. The guy is probably one of the best closers around, with something like a 1.39 ERA. But sometimes watching him is like watching Russian Roulette scene in Deerhunter - ouch! And tonight when the tying run came onto the plate, I kinda felt like when Christopher Walken has the gun in his mouth.

In the end, it was all ok. Oli continues to be a beast. 11 strikeouts. Hot. 8-5 win hot.

Hurry Up and Wait

Poor Mr. Viagra... no win last night. The relievers bringing no relief to anyone. Maybe Gange and Cordero look more worth it after the haze of last night's 13th inning loss? Maybe. We'll probably see one of them in the postseason (or at least a girl can hope). But ya can't go back to yesterday at 3:59, can you? Three games ain't much. But it's where we are today. I don't love it, it's not August 2006 but I still believe.