Tuesday night's was the kind of game that's worthy of intricate dissection. But if you attempted to dissect it, you'd just take the scalpel to your eyes in an effort to forget what you just saw.
You wouldn't forget a thing, however. You wouldn't forget how a 7-0 lead became an 8-7 loss across thirteen of the unluckiest innings in inhuman history. You wouldn't forget an offense that operated on bankers' hours, closing after four. You wouldn't forget that Damion Easley had the game of his life and that it was absorbed in a hostile takeover by the game of Chris Coste's life. You wouldn't forget a Hall of Fame starter undone by the schoolyard dimensions of the playground to which he was assigned for the evening. You wouldn't forget the double plays or the lefts-on-base or how three steely innings of Aaron Heilman dissloved into a long single to center off Scott Schoeneweis seconds after the world's first intentional strikeout by Brett Myers.
You'd just be missing your eyes.
So put down the scalpel and by all means protect your vision. You'll need it tonight to see what staff ace Johan Santana does to answer a question that, at Mets 7 Phillies 0, appeared ridiculous: How do we get even in this series and back into first place after probably the worst loss ever etched into the annals of worsts, losses, etchings or annals?
Do what you're supposed to do, Ace. After a Rollinsian debacle of Rogersesque proportions, we require all the help we can afford.
Can someone explain to me with all our bullpen problems why Brian Stokes was not afforded a third inning…. I noticed Manuel was ready to pinch hit for him after one scoreless inning!! thank god we went down easy and he got a second inning …then he blew the phillies away in his second inning of work…….. I was screaming at the TV to keep him in after all we have been through……. but in the 8th inning sure enough stokes gets pinch hit for and its not a table setter but evans then murphy to pinch hit for evans as manuel thought he was outsmartting manuel…… I like these kids but if you are taking stokes out and not give him a third inning why is argenis reyes or castillo not pinch hitting to lead off that eighth…….
Call me crazy, but how is this worse than the dozen or so other crappy losses this season? Has everyone forgotten that this is the 2008 Mets, not the 2006 version?
Because it's the only game we lost tonight.
I have figured out what the Mets lack: Victorininess. What is Victorininess? It's that pesky, incredibly annoying, unquenchable desire and will to win exemplified by Shane Victorini, the Annoyin' Hawaiian. Dude has gotta be exhausted, legs feeling like lead, and he busts his ass for essentially the game-winning triple in the 13th, after having gone 0-for-6 up to that point. They have it, we don't. Our bullpen has an allergy to Victorininess. I think the medical term is Schoeneweisism. Ah-choo!
I just hate the Phillies. But yeah, Aaron Heilman… kudos upon kudos upon more kudos. Three scoreless innings against an endless procession of terrifying hitters, under immense pressure, in that Fisher Price ballpark. He displayed balls of steel, and it was awesome to watch.
As were the first four innings. But that 13th… oh man, I really wanted to take that scalpel to my eyes (and a bat to Myers' head, frankly… it was too Andruw/Kenny Rogers for my liking). Poor Schoeneweis, there really was no getting out of that mess. Not against that team, in that ballpark. I really felt bad for him. And for me, having just endured days before another Hall of Fame starter undone by the schoolyard dimensions of the (same) playground to which he was assigned for the evening. It was sort of like watching Groundhog Game. Without the 7-run lead, of course.
The odometer rolls back tonight, and last night never happened. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
There's not one person in that lineup that doesn't scare the living daylights out of me. How they've lost even one single game with that Murderers' Row is beyond me.
But Aaron Heilman walking someone in a tie game to get to Pat Burrell… that was truly one for the ages. It had complete disaster of epic proportions written all over it. You'd think we would have been bulletproof after getting out of that one.
Ray of sunshine: at least Schoeneweis didn't walk Myers. Tried awful hard though … that's how I saw it unfolding in my head.
Oh well. Page turned. Stopper needs to stop. Nice little ryhthm time, Johan … let's go.
Bad hop my foot. We were told we were getting a defensive catcher, were we not?!
Just friggin once I'd like to see Schneider make a nice stop. Maybe move his feet a few steps to the left or right, or drop down to his knees. Just ONCE.
The ball skidded under Schneider's glove instead of hopping which he was prepared for. With it coming that fast on a bang-bang play, it's tough to make a split second adjustment.
You're entirely too easy on Pedro here. Park dimensions are not his problem.
And once again, after a soul-crushing loss, the Mets will win a nifty game tonight.
Mark me: it's happened all year.
Not generally, Jon, but I think last night it had to be taken into account. There always has to be some slack given when pitching in a place where a fly ball is a home run.
There's plenty of “blame” (if one needs to place blame) to go around for last night. The offense went on an early vacation and yes, Pedro did give up 5 runs… some legit, some not. But while both bullpens admirably battled their a$$es off, Philly was just scrappier than us at the plate and on the basepaths.
Tonight we just dig in and not assume 7 runs means we can kick back with a cold one and enjoy the show. This is PHILADELPHIA, guys. Take another look at the names on that lineup card, and assume they're going to kick your collective a$$ clear into next week. They're merciless assassins… we need to adopt their mindset and KILL KILL KILL.
Last night never happened. Tonight we kill.
Strangely, I believe the Mets have lost every series opener to the Phillies this year and are otherwise unbeaten against them.
So I think you're onto something here.
The way Met relievers kept missing their location, I was amazed we lasted as long as we did. That slider Joe Smith threw to Burrell hung while screaming HIT ME OUT. Ditto for several pitches thrown by Heilman, not that that negates his unHeilmanesque grit in lasting three innings.
Ah well. Great game, bad ending, Johan can make it just days off the calendar tonight.
I love the positivity from the article. Does anybody else remember how Carlos Beltran was hit with a batted ball while he was standing INSIDE THE BASELINE. That translates to an out for Carlos as well as Tatis standing on first, never hitting his 3 run home run. Luckily, the baseball Gods know the rules and wouldn't allow such an embarassing call to make an impact on the correct standings. Mets fans, what's your excuse going to be tomorrow when this soft throwing 24 year old Kyle Kendrick shows Johan what it's like to pitch for a real team?
screw the phillies they still suck and always suck and the fans suck.
But it wasn't a bang-bang play, that 's the problem. Schneider (and Easley for that matter) had time to make better plays dammit!!! Schneider has to, has to, has to catch that friggin ball.
-sjg$
Exactly the kind of response one would expect from some anonymous nobody fan of the mets (who actually epitomize what it means to be a bad fan)… for the record the only reason I'm also anonymous is because I would never in my life bother even signing up for some username on a crappy New York website. I just happened to link here from Deadspin to see what kind of excuses you guys can come up with after last night. Also I'd usually never comment but this board just made laugh real hard. You can call me PHRED from PHILADELPHIA though.
Whatever, man. Play that on slo-mo a dozen times, and it's still a close call. Beltran was obscuring the third base umpire's view of contact and was almost on the bag when the ball hit him, anyway. The call was appropriate, even though the Mets definitely caught a break. Every team gets a lucky call every now and again. This one didn't even translate into a win, so why are you complaining about it?
Also, in terms of smack talking, aren't the Mets, like, 9 for 14 against the Phillies this year? Why don't you go boo Jimmy Rollins some more.
I am not anonymous….I will see you in philly tonight you phukface….losers… where would you like to meet up??????
dave from nyc
Wow. It didn't even occur to me to seek out a Phillies fan site and go over there and trash-talk like an idiot. I'm way more concerned with my own team than theirs. But I must say, it's a bit silly to be all blustery bravado when you've blown a fairly sizeable lead and now sit only a half-game atop the standings. I may be crazy, but I don't remember us acting like that after we coughed up the division last year. Then again, we let a clearly inferior team take our spot in the playoffs, where they immediately showed what they could do when something WASN'T handed to them on a platter. That obviously is not the case here. So I'd be careful about the premature ejaculation, guys. If you'll excuse my coarseness.
I'd say constant 300-foot home runs are pretty lucky. Ryan Howard's bizarre stats (35/110… .227) are no coincidence. Put him a real park and those suckers are routine fly balls.
C'mon, enough with this stuff everybody. It ain't what we do.
We won Friday and Saturday nights in April at CPB but lost Sunday. And we lost the Home Opener but won the next two. But I like your way of thinking.
Just being realistic, Jace. There's no call for trash-talking on either side. We've both done our fair share of blowing leads and losing games, and I couldn't help but point that out to our “guests.” There was no reason at all to come here and start attacking us. I certainly hope none of our people went over there and did the same. It's silly.
Can't we all just get back to online Texas Hold 'em?
Victorino, obviously. I was still in a blind rage when I wrote that, and could not tell i's from o's too well.
TAKE THAT PHILLY ASSHOLES
It's OK Phillies. Even Brad Lidge has an off night every now and again. Best of luck at Wrigley.
Sincerely,
My Ass
MATT!!! <:-0 heh