Thanks Tschida!

"I'd rather be lucky than good." - Billy Wagner, following yesterday's Home Opener Victory to start the Mets a perfect 1-0.

Is it lucky when an umpire, rotating from first to cover home plate blows a call that may have swung the balance of the game?

Tim Tschida blew a potential game-turning call at home plate in the top of the 8th inning with the score still 3-2, when a Ryan Zimmerman lined shot to Cliff Floyd was relayed by Floyd to Jose Reyes who spun and threw to home to try and peg out the steaming Alfonso Soriano, who had come all the way from first, heading home with Paul Lo Duca blocking the plate:



This shows Soriano saying he's safe at the plate but Tim Tschida, who could not see Lo Duca briefly lose the ball, trickling down his arm before he was able to hold it up for view, did not, calling Soriano out to preserve the Mets fragile 3-2 lead. Nice slight of hand. Luck? Lo Duca briefly dropping the ball, then smothered it and showing it to Tschida with his bare hand. Magic.


Not even close, really...

And if that wasn't close enough a call, last season's meltdown by Braden Looper must have been on more than a few minds yesterday when multimillion dollar closer and replacement, Billy Wagner, entered the game to the tune of Enter the Sandman with a one run lead, top of the 9th and the game on the line.

Wagner induced the first batter into a sharp ground out to David Wright, struck out the next batter and then watched as Jose Vidro drove a single that he tried to stretch into a double right into a rally-killing, game-ending out at second base.

Having already been treated to the boo birds impatient for offensive output, Carlos Beltran proved the versatility of his usefulness, throwing out Vidro's foolhearted effort to ensure the Mets didn't blow another Opening Day.

Joining the list of heroes and making Brother Omar look like a genius after many scornful cries of what is he doing trading Cameron for Nady?, not just from here but all over baseball headscratchers, was Xavier Nady who went 4 for 4 in his Mets debut to become the second Met to collect four hits in his debut with the team. The other was Richie Hebner, who did it on Opening Day in 1979.

The guy Omar traded to get him, Mike Cameron, begins this season on the disabled list.

Sure enough, it was more than just luck that earned the Mets their first win of the season.

Tom Glavine was sharp in his debut, throwing 100 pitches and allowing 6 hits, one run, three walks and 5 strikeouts to earn the 276th win of his career and had two hits in two at-bats to boot.

Heilman on the other hand, continuously struggled in and out of trouble in his 2006 bullpen debut, allowing 5 hits but, thanks to Tschida, only a single run in two innings of work.

Where were the set-up men that Omar gave up two starting pitchers for? Duaner Sanchez and Jorge Julio saw no action in the 7th and 8th innings whilst Heilman toiled, making more than one wonder, if Heilman is the set-up guy, why did we give away Benson and Seo?

Time will tell, lads. There's still 161 games to go and as we already know after merely one game, anything can happen.

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