Whew!
The series is even, and no matter what happens, the Mets are coming back to New York alive.
You saw it. We all saw it. Really, this rebound began last night, when Darren Oliver saved the bullpen from having to put in overtime. It continued tonight, with the other Oliver (young Mr. Perez) pitching bravely and effectively. Never mind his numbers, which got a little blemished late as he was trading potential runs for outs — he did exactly what we needed him to do, exactly what Steve Trachsel was utterly incapable of doing, and now things are different.
Did the worm turn tonight? Only the baseball gods can say. But diving into baseball phrenology, it should be noted that since the seventh inning of Game 2 the Cardinals have most certainly had The Look — big hits from the guys you tend to look past (Encarnacion, Spiezio and Molina), homers from unlikely sources (Taguchi and Eckstein), pitchers hitting homers, young relievers coming up big, two-run triples everywhere, and lots of balls eluding Met gloves by inches (Green in Game 2, Green and Chavez in Game 3, Beltran and Wright early tonight).
But tonight was different: Those young relievers weren’t so good and the Cards’ fielding fell apart. And, of course, the Met bats erupted. This was no “save some of that for tomorrow night” — this was wanting hitting to get contagious, for everyone in the lineup to leave with a knock, for all concerned to freaking relax already. Mission accomplished — the nicest sight for me wasn’t Jose Valentin’s casket-closing double, but the way he raised his fist and grinned afterwards. When the Mets took the field, the wolf was at the door. Three and a half hours later, he’d fled into the woods yelping that the monsters were out of the cage.
Now, time to keep the furry little blighter there.
My fondest hope for tomorrow night? It has nothing to do with baseball. It’s that we spend tomorrow watching “Prison Break” or “Justice” or whatever it is Fox has as a backup plan. (I’d be catching up with “The Wire” on TiVo, but you get the idea.) The weather report for Monday night is apocalyptic, and that’s just fine with me. If it rains, Glavine pitches Tuesday night on normal rest. Same for Jeff Weaver, but short rest is more dangerous for a touch-and-feel guy like Glavine than for a winger-flinger like Weaver.
After that? Well — and this is a case where you do need to look ahead — if Glavine prevails in Game 5 (on normal rest or not), the Cardinals need Carpenter to beat Maine and Suppan to beat [Oliver or Oliver or Trachsel] at Shea. If Game 5 goes to St. Louis, we need our rotation’s soft underbelly to put together two good games against the Cardinals’ ace and a guy who shut us down Saturday. Or for the hopefully still-uncaged monsters to run wild, eating wolves and birds and anything else that gets within reach, of course. But solid pitching from unexpected sources would sure help, and that could well be too much to ask down 3-2, Shea or no Shea.
Funny thing, hoping to spend Monday night doing whatever the hell I do when there isn’t baseball.
Careful on the rain-praying. An extra day of rest for Glavine, yes, but then the Cards prob'ly bring in Carpenter to pitch Game 5 at home. Where his #s are daunting.
Tough call (if it were a call).
True, but then Carpenter would be on short rest. I know his home #s are much better than his road ones, but I'm not sure LaRussa would do that for what wouldn't be an elimination game, particularly since we don't have much behind Glavine.
It'll be an interesting call….
Monday (St. Louis):
Occasional rain and chance of thunderstorms. High in the upper 50s. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent.
In case of a rainout, may I recommend “Heroes” on NBC for your viewing pleasure?
I don't want rain. The Mets have a lot of momentum and I'd hate to see that lost. I also think Weaver on three days rest is dicier than Glavine, especially given the psyche and arm strength of the STL bullpen at this moment.
Let's play ball!
JoAnn
What if you woke up and realized your favorite team possessed super powers? A rabid Mets fan, while investigating the 20-year disappearance of the championship trophy, discovers there are 25 people in the world who have amazing abilities.
Heroes – Monday at 8 on FOX.
One man can fly – around the bases.
Another can walk through fire and not get burned, even when he doesn't deserve the win.
Another is ageless and indestructible. He cannot be killed. Even though he's almost 50 years old.
Still another can teleport himself through time and space, and tag two runners out within seconds of each other.
And their leader can read the minds of others – even geniuses in red and white uniforms – and outthink and outplay them.
That's Heroes – tonight at 8 on FOX. Due to a bullpen full of graphic violence, viewer discretion advised.
Well done!
I would trust this guy as he is the Lorax and he speaks for the trees, which would lead me to believe he has a great knowledge of weather and other outdoory type stuff.
Star-Bellied Sneech Joel
24 guys with amazing abilities. They also have this doofus who babbles about wine and can't do his job if everything isn't exactly the way he visualized it and takes himself out of games when the bullpen's hyperventilating.
On the other hand, I hear the show's creators have written him out of all future episodes.
Stupid Trachsel.
From your keyboard to WIllie and Omar's eyes.
No more Trax!