Geez, Roy Halladay’s good. Or as one of my dear friends in all matters Mets put it, “Can’t believe you wanted him to pitch the no-hitter. F history, F the Phillies.”
Normally, yes, but this was something F’ing special. The Reds weren’t coming back. Games aren’t over until they’re over and all that, but it was pretty F’ing obvious Cincinnati could only dream of maintaining high hopes in this one. We’re nine outs, six outs, three outs from watching the only postseason no-hitter anybody has ever seen on color television. I know it’s the Phillies, I know we hate them in Yankeesque proportions, I know it’s anathema to not want anvils falling on every red-capped head at Citizens Bank Park — pitcher’s mound included — but it wasn’t like the Mets were gonna pick up a half-game in any of this.
Or, if I may invoke the 1992 election for the second time in a week, the first George Bush settled with minimal hesitation into his chair on the Truman Balcony to watch the fireworks show hailing the imminent inauguration of Bill Clinton, the man who was sending him packing from the White House. What the hell, the outgoing president said to a companion, we’ve got the best view in town for this.
Mets fans have grown accustomed to great views of postseason baseball on TV just as we have no-hitters beamed in from distant precincts. So if the two things we can’t have are right in front of us, we might as well sit back and enjoy as best we can.
I enjoyed watching Halladay close shop on the Reds. What an exclamation point on this lower-case year of the pitcher. What a game of catch he was having with Carlos Ruiz. It looked quite a bit like the night Armando Galarraga was dealing to the Indians, but those were the Indians. These were the Reds, from the hard-hitting portion of Ohio. This was the playoffs, for goodness sake. This was a brilliant pitcher who toiled in relative obscurity — also known as Canada — for more than a decade. Shouldn’t stepping up to the big stage make a fella a wee bit nervous?
Didn’t seem to bother Halladay. As the game wore on, he grew untouchable. The only Reds bat that remotely threatened his exquisiteness was a bat left on the ground. Brandon Phillips whacked Halladay’s last pitch a good 80 or 90 inches and his lumber threatened to tangle up immortality the way Jim Joyce got in the way of Galarraga’s. But stuff like that never seems to work against the Phillies, does it? Ruiz pounced on the ball, threw it to first and Halladay completed the no-hitter in as mussless, fussless fashion as one could imagine.
The man was so calm afterwards. Perhaps he was dazed or, more likely, he’s immensely professional. Halladay gave interview after interview indicating all the satisfaction of a man who had gotten his throwing in before running wind sprints in Clearwater in February. He didn’t seem unhappy (he’s not Steve Carlton) but he kept his emotions in check. Good move. It’s Game One. The Reds were through before they even started Wednesday, but even these short series can become long series, and Cincy — league leaders in home runs, runs scored, batting average and OPS — has been known to hit.
Just not off Roy Halladay, just not in Game One of this particular NLDS.
The Phillies were pretty good a year ago, but all they had by way of reliable starters was Cliff Lee (who’s still pretty good), and they traded him. Yet here they are, deeper than ever in the pitching department. Roy Halladay replaced Lee. Cole Hamels returned from his sabbatical of immaturity and, for good measure, they nabbed Roy Oswalt at the trading deadline. If the no-hit bid had been Hamels’ or Oswalt’s, I probably would have passed on history. Hamels has a big mouth. Oswalt once brushed back Cliff Floyd a little too feistily. Halladay? All I really knew about him before 2010 (beyond his numbers) was now and then I’d flip by YES when the Yankees were in Toronto and he’d be winning 6-1. I have nothing against this guy beyond his uniform and how good he is in it against us.
But, again, we’re not there. The only no-hitter we were a part of last night happened 35 years ago and, per usual, it didn’t actually happen. After the traditional October Twinplosion occurred on TBS, I discovered Mets Yearbook: 1975 was reairing on SNY. It was expert propaganda in its time and of course it holds up beautifully. Mike Vail, Roy Staiger, Mike Phillips, Ken Sanders…good lord, we’re going to be great in ’76! In the midst of all this spectacular futurizing, there’s Randy Tate, the fourth starter in a rotation that begins with Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman. Tate was a 5-13 pitcher in his one and only major league season, running up an ERA of 4.45, but he did have his moments in 1975, just about all of them one night at Shea against Montreal.
As the highlight film elaborates and a shot of the scoreboard illustrates, Randy Tate has pitched a no-hitter through seven innings. The Shea crowd of 10,720 is applauding heartily as Tate strikes out his first batter, Jose Morales, in the top of the eighth. What the film doesn’t show is a 12-year-old version of myself, in the bathtub, hanging on Bob Murphy’s every word. No Mets pitcher has ever thrown a no-hitter, but young Randy Tate now stands five outs… And with that reality acknowledged over WNEW-AM, Jim Lyttle singles. There goes the no-hitter, but the Mets are still winning 3-0. Four batters later (Pepe Mangual, Jim Dwyer, Gary Carter and Mike Jorgensen — every one of them eventually a Met), Tate is on the wrong end of a 4-3 score. When the game is over, his record falls to 4-10.
But not to worry. Randy Tate, according to the 1975 highlight film, will be a big part of the Mets’ plans for years to come.
In a sense, he is. I’m still waiting for someone to pick up his final five outs. I’m still waiting for the first no-hitter in Mets history. Therefore, I’m still amenable to generally rooting for no-hitters that don’t do us direct damage in lieu of relishing one of our own. We have none of our own 35 years since Randy Tate couldn’t put away the Expos — eighth in the National League in home runs, tenth in runs scored and OPS, last in batting average.
It would have been pretty F’ing special if Randy Tate could have no-hit the Montreal Expos on August 4, 1975.
Are you SURE there’s no film of 12-year-old you in the bathtub? I mean, I’m just saying. You’re becoming a celebrity, and these old films do seem to turn up.
More seriously, the motto I’m repeating to myself this postseason is this: Of the Phillies, Braves and Yankees, two of three are guaranteed to go home disappointed. Small comfort, but what else we got?
Like the 1905 World Series, no film exists…that I know of.
Oh, why must there be such pain and suffering and tragedy in the world? 2010…earthquakes, floods, war, terrorism, Alex Chilton dies, the political landscape (I’ll avoid starting a political debate and keep that vaguely worded)…and now the F’ing Phillies finish with the best F’ing record in MLB and F’ing Halladay throws an F’ing no-hitter in the F’ing playoffs. I should have watched the game so I could have jinxed him by saying “no hitter” over and over again.
Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson said no-hitter about a hundred times. About a hundred times Halladay threw an unhittable pitch.
Isn’t it spelled Ph’ing record, Ph’ing Halladay and Ph’ing no hitter?
Wouldn’t worry about the Phillies making the world series.
Their 97 wins matches ours of 2006 and we know what happened next.
Dave
An Alex Chilton reference, Big Star.
U r my hero and amazingly Big Stars are what we lack.
Off topic, but Greg are you going to the GM and Jason the manager or it is vice versa?
And should the 2010 Mets’ theme song have been “Try Again” or “You Get What You Deserve”?
Personally I am happy for Roy. Did something thats rare for any pitcher to do even once and then did it twice in one season, one of them in the postseason.
I also don’t feel that the Phillies winning in postseason as a torture. I instead look at it from the perspective that WE had to face the World Champions more than most other clubs did and therefore had a bigger challenge to overcome! But thats just me I guess.
But before everyone laments the fact a Phillie pitcher did it consider the fact that this is probably the worst thing that could have happened to the Phillies!
The postseason is usually a game of 3 man rotation! By Halliday going 9 to complete the no hitter, what kind of condition is he going to be in when it’s his turn again?
Granted they may get away with it if they sweep the 5 game series in 3, but if it wasn’t for the fact that history was on the line I bet than CharlieM was hoping and praying he could find a good reason to pull Halladay so he could save him for the short rest outings that lay ahead!
He only needed 104 pitch to win that game
He only threw 108 pitches… Halladay routinely goes complete games with way more pitches than that. On five days rest in game 5 (likely unnecessary) or nine days rest in game 1 of the NLCS, he will be ready to roll.
Good for Halladay. I’m rooting for single team domination by starters for this year’s playoffs so we can see sweeps all the way around so that these playoffs can be over as soon as possible. Let’s go Phils to sweep the Reds, then the Braves, the Yanks sweep the Twins, then the Rangers sweep the Yankees, then Phils sweep the Rangers. Ah, who am I kidding? These playoffs will be over at some point during Xmas shopping.
The plan is he pitches game 4 on Monday, on 4 days rest.
Still remember listening to that Randy Tate game, which was radio only because it was a Monday night and WOR had to cede to NBC’s national telecast rights.
Bob Murphy always insisted that, “Randy’s such a big, strong guy, he’s going to hit a home run before this season is over.”
Randy Tate finished 1975–and his career–0-for-41 at the plate.
The Mets acquire one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2005, and he ends up a brittle mess. For good measure, we do it again in 2008, much to the same result.
The Yankees acquire one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he immediately leads them to the World Series, and follows that campaign with a Cy Young award while leading them (anyone care to argue?) to another WS triumph.
The Phillies discharge one of the best pitchers in baseball, in the process of acquiring another, better one. All he does is win the Cy Young award, including throwing a no-hitter, and then follows it up with a NO-HITTER IN THE %$@#ING PLAYOFFS!
The baseball gods hate us.
The baseball gods don’t hate us. But we do amuse them greatly.
Before he ended up a brittle mess, on my one weekend trip to see the Mets play the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine, he took a no-no into the eigth inning on 8/14/05. That’s probably about as close as I’ll ever get to seeing a Met pitch a no hitter in person.
And remind me who the closer for the Braves is? Some guy who (of course) spent a season on the DL while he was in the orange and blue, but go somewhere else and he makes a miraculous recovery.
Someone must have kicked a black cat.
The important thing is we got rid of Jeff Francoeur and there’s no chance we’ll ever see him again anywhere. And now if you’ll excuse me a moment, I’m going to take a look at the Texas Rangers’ playoff game and see who’s batting and…D’OH!
Put it in the books:
A). We lose the fight with the union and have to pay K-Rod for 2011
B). We decide to make a principled stand and release him anyway
C). He signs with Atlanta, who pays him the prorated minimum
D). He earns the Rolaids Relief Man award (they still have that?) and breaks his save record for the Wildcard-bound Braves.
Most of those saves set up by lights-out eighth-inning man John Maine.
And using 2010’s Wilson Valdez as a template, their shortstop goes down and is replaced by Luis Hernandez, who hits .330 for them.
Well, at least it wasn’t another Yankee no-hitter. Silver linings and all.
Is Oliver Perez still a Met? Oh, I see. Wake me when he finally leaves for good, OK?